Raiders of the Pokemon
by CDrayan
Summary: COMPLETED! After a museum robbery, Daisy Oak is kidnapped by Team Rocket and her brother and neighbors must rescue her. But what of Kanto suddenly becoming an unstable territory with earthquakes and unusual climate? Reviews wanted, please!
1. In the Lab

(C) 2006 Eric Oakford.  
Pokemon (C) 1995-2006 Nintendo/Creatures/Game Freak.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The year is 2205. By that time, the world had become a very different place. Originally, it was filled with many different plants and animals. There were seven continents of the Earth, too.

But the landmasses were breaking apart, creating many smaller regions, ever-moving and shifting. Furthermore, the realm of the animals was beginning to change. The plants and animals had begun to transform into strange and wonderful creatures.

These creatures have become known to man in a small part of the world. They have also been given the name that many people would soon enjoy – Pokemon, which is derived from "Pocket Monster". There are many kinds of Pokemon. They range from small bugs and mice to humanoid psychics and mythical legends. It is unknown exactly how many there are. Currently, one hundred and fifty have been identified.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fear. Pain. Suffering.

Charmander had horrible memories of scientists injecting chemicals into his body. He still felt pain from last week's shots beneath his orange scales. The lizard looked down at the flame on his tail. What if scientists dumped water on him, thereby causing the flame to go out? That would be a fatal action. He knew that if this flame ever went out, he would soon die. That fire was his lifeblood; it was his essence that allowed him to survive, and he cherished it like any vital organ.

Another cage held a Squirtle, hiding in his shell, not willing to see those "bad people" again. The cage also felt extremely uncomfortable. Squirtle knew his shell was much more comfortable; therefore, he hid inside. But the shell was beginning to decay; he worried about losing his last line of defense against attacks. Due to his dehydration, he was unable to use any water-type moves that he knew. The tiny turtle didn't think that water would get him out of the cage, anyway.

A third caged Pokemon, a Bulbasaur, shivered, freezing from the coldness of the room and her cage. As a grass-type Pokemon, she knew that she would not survive if she continued to live in this laboratory. The seed on her back nourished her with energy she needed to survive. But the seed was beginning to dry up as she had been given less water lately, making her very hungry and thirsty. She felt that she could go for some food and water right now. She _craved_ the most for water. If this seed were to die, she may die as well.

The farthest they could remember before was in this exact same lab a year ago. During that time, they never were able to leave the lab and see what was outside. All they ever did see was out the window, which couldn't show much except for some plant life and a bright circle of some sort during the day. At night, another silver-gray pockmarked circle occupied the sky. Maybe some day, these Pokemon would be released to see more of what was out there. But they could only hope for the best.

The room had an asphalt floor and metallic walls. The aluminum ceiling contained stacks of florescent light-bulbs; they were the only source of light during the nighttime. The bright lights that illuminated the room, however, hurt the Pokemon's eyes. Many gray empty cages surrounded the room; a few of these cages contained Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

A scientist entered the room. Oh, no, not more experiments. But the lab-coat-clad man pulled out three red and white capsules, and called in the three Pokemon. As the three became beams of energy, they wondered what would happen next. Are they going to be released? What was beyond the laboratory that they were confined in? What was their purpose in life? These questions burned in their minds as they entered the red-and-white capsules. Then, everything went black. They felt weightless, flying through a dark void.

"This is Gideon," said the scientist as he pulled out a cellular phone.

The voice of an unknown man then asked, "Are the Pokemon ready to be delivered to our headquarters?"

"Yes, sir. We'll send the three Pokemon tomorrow."

"Very good, sir," said the unidentified man in triumph. "There can be no mistakes."

Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle were just more Pokemon to be used and abused by Team Rocket as mere tools of war. Could this be their fate? A life of crime? Were they born to fight and die for Team Rocket? What in the world _was_ this so-called "Team Rocket" which these scientists have been talking about anyway? The three had absolutely no idea what to expect.

And so, they waited patiently, wondering where their next destination was.

---

A fifty-year-old man, whose face was hidden in shadow, held two pieces of paper in his hand, which showed that two Team Rocket Elites had been promoted to Administrators; thus, they became his sub-ordinates. In addition, he had other plans up his sleeves; they were almost entirely confidential and only released to certain people. Grinning, the man placed the two papers into a fax machine.

But what were these plans? Why were they classified information? That was exactly what this unknown man didn't want anyone outside of Team Rocket to find out about. He preferred confidentiality and anonymity; it protected him from any crimes that his minions did for him. An ordinary Kantoan citizen living in Viridian City as its Gym Leader during the day, this mysterious person led Team Rocket during the nighttime.


	2. Package Switcheroo

A forty-three-year-old woman's arm reached for the fax machine, and pulled off the two pieces of paper. Through her thin-rimmed glasses and rust-red, dune-shaped hair, with one side reaching below her right ear, was the notice that she and another teammate had become Administrators. "Yes! We've done it," she said triumphantly. "Conner is really going to jump in excitement."

---

"All right! That last mission stealing Porygon from Silph Company paid off, Sandy! We're at the top now with Mandroph Darkao!" Conner couldn't believe what his wife Sandy told him.

They were in their living room, with things one would normally find in one. There were two couches, an armchair that Conner sat on, a fancy-looking ceiling light, and various paintings on the wall. Also, on the other side from the couches and chair, there was a big-screen, high-definition television set.

"OK, let's calm down," said Sandy. "Calm down."

"All right." Conner began to take deep breaths. "I'm fine now." He began to remember how he, Sandy, and their kid Becky came to Kanto a few years ago. Their boss offered them positions on Team Rocket, promising high wages. This was the real kicker for them – they needed to find a job to settle in Kanto, and Team Rocket offered it.

"Also noted is that we'll be receiving a package in the mail. This package contains three Pokemon from the laboratory to bring to HQ." Just more Pokemon to round up. Nothing exciting here. They always had the duty of sending stolen and experimented Pokemon to HQ.

---

The next morning, a postal truck drove into Saffron City's Postal Hub – the centerpiece of the Postal Service in Kanto. The truck driver lifted the back door, and placed the various packages and mail onto conveyor belts. As the package containing Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle went through inspection, one of the staff members, who couldn't see very well, confused it with another package next to it, which was meant to go to a house in Pallet Town. But more specifically, that package was intended to go to the home of Paul Oak, the famous Pokemon Professor! Whoops! This inspector is probably going to get in trouble...

---

At noon, the postal trucks were loaded. Unknown to the truck drivers, the Pallet Town truck contained Team Rocket's package, while the Celadon City truck contained Professor Oak's package. After loading, the trucks drove out of the garage, out of Saffron, and off to their respective locations.

---

Conner waited patiently for the mail truck to arrive while watching TV. He whistled patiently until he heard the sound of a truck driving near the house. "I guess the mail's here," said Conner. When the truck drove away, he headed outside to get the mail. After emptying the mailbox, he headed back inside, placing the mail onto a coffee table. Included was a package. "This is it!" he exclaimed as he pulled out his keys, cut through the tape with them, and lifted the lids. He dug through the Styrofoam peanuts and pulled out a PokeBall. "What the heck? We only got one!" And the ball looked custom-made, not the red-and-white capsule. The ball didn't contain any Pokemon. "Oh, my god! Sandy! Come over here!"  
Sandy entered the living room, and asked, "What is it?"

"We must have gotten the wrong package by mistake," answered Conner. "We screwed up." He sighed in failure.

Sandy looked at the label imprinted on the box. "Pallet Town... it was meant to go to somewhere in Pallet Town... That's it! Professor Oak!"

"Why don't we give him a call tonight?

"Sure thing, Conner."

"We just opened a package that isn't ours. That's illegal."

---

Pallet Town was a peaceful small town with many patches of grass and trees. The air was completely clean, too. This town was known as the perfect place for children to grow up in. The postal truck drove into the town, while the driver placed the mail into the correct mailboxes. As he reached the home of Professor Oak, delivering mail for him. he unknowingly inserted Team Rocket's package into the mailbox, thinking it was Oak's.

Soon after, a boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes – Kevin Oak, Professor Oak's grandson - came home from school. "June 12 tomorrow – that's the last day of school. I'm so excited," ranted the boy. As usual, he looked in the mailbox, and saw that mail had arrived. "Hey! We got mail!" Kevin emptied the mailbox, and headed inside.

---

"Hi, Kevin," a middle-aged man, who looked like an older Kevin said.

"Hey, dad. We got mail." Kevin put the mail onto the coffee table. When he checked the package, he saw that it wasn't supposed to go to this house. Instead, it was labeled "Conner Drayan". "Hmmm." He headed upstairs into his bedroom.

In Kevin's room, he pulled out a knife from his desk to cut open the tape, and open the box. Digging through the Styrofoam peanuts, he pulled out... three PokeBalls! He picked one, and opened it up. Out came a beam of white light, which materialized into an unhealthy-looking cyan turtle. "You're a Squirtle. Dad! Daisy! Come on in here! I found some Pokemon!"

---

The three Pokemon were released from their PokeBalls. Their surroundings showed that they were no longer in the lab, but instead, they were in a house. These people didn't look anything like scientists – well, at least, they didn't look like the kind that would abuse Pokemon.

"You found Pokemon?" asked Daisy in amazement. "I hope you didn't steal Chansey from me to do so!"

"Yeah! I'll keep them! No, Daisy, I didn't take your Chansey."

"Now, Kevin, let's not get greedy. One Pokemon's enough."

"All right, then... I'll keep Squirtle. Karl and Hadley can have the other two."

"That's good," praised Kevin and Daisy's father. "Squirtle will make a good friend with Chansey. But he looks awfully hungry. We should feed him."

"All right, dad, I'll feed him. He's my pet now. Hey! I'll call him Koopa!" Kevin knew right then and there that he had a new responsibility to take care of now, just like Daisy with Chansey.


	3. Meet the Caliduct Family

Karl opened the refrigerator. "Let's see here... there's some lemonade and some carrots." He pulled out a can of lemonade and a bag of carrots, then he headed upstairs and into his messy bedroom. Dirty clothes and dishes were on one side of the room, while a shelf with a TV set and cable box hooked up was placed on the other. He slurped the lemonade, and chewed on the carrots. When he was done, he decided to take a little nap, pulling the red bedspread.

But before he could fall asleep, something flew into his open window. "Huh? What's that?" Karl looked down, and saw an orange lizard with a flame on its tail. "Hey, it's a Charmander. Come on up."

The orange lizard looked strangely at this slightly fat boy, who didn't seem harmful at all. Better not get near him. He seems OK, Charmander thought, but looks can be deceiving.

Karl climbed off of the bed, but accidentally stepped on Charmander's tail. "OW! That burns!" He quickly jumped out of the way. The lizard blew fire at Karl, charring his shirt. "Whoa. I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry."

The lizard then stopped and looked at Karl happily. He _wasn't _intentionally harmful! He _cared_ about Pokemon! "You sure have a good aim at fire-breathing. I know! I'll call you Blowtorch!" He then picked up Blowtorch, and hugged the lizard, carefully avoiding the fire on its tail. "Guess I'd better start cleaning my room now, or you might burn something else here!"

---

Karl's messy room seemed much different from another bedroom next to it. It was relatively clean, with a computer desk in the corner and a computer fair poster on the wall. Her bed had a green bedspread, and on her end table was an alarm clock radio which doubled as a weather station which told the temperature, along with a florescent lamp.

This was the room of Karl's geeky sister, Hadley Caliduct, who was just a few minutes younger than him. What was higher than Karl, however, was Hadley's IQ, since she had received above average on her IQ test, while Karl only received a regular average.

Hadley sat down at her desk, finishing the last homework assignment for the school year of 2205 - algebra. This girl didn't seem to mind getting homework, despite her brother and next-door neighbor not getting any obligations from here on. Aren't they going to get stupid all over again?

Green then thought about what would play out by the time they went back to school.

_"Guh-huh, yo Cal!"_

_"Hey, there, uh, Kelvin?"_

_"Uh, what was I gonna say?"_

_"Ha ha! You stupid idiot!"_

_"Oh, that's right... ha ha! You stupid idiot!"_

_"Hey, don't call me that!"_

"Grand slam!" a voice that sounded like Kevin's cried out from outside. A PokeBall crashed into the closed window, creating a large gaping hole. The ball sped at Hadley's head.

"Ow! Hey! You broke my window!" Hadley looked down angrily at Kevin.

"Hey, it should have been open in the first place, because it's a nice day out!" Kevin then realized that he had vandalized the house. "OK, I'm sorry, we'll take it out of my allowance, but there's a surprise for you in the shape of a Pokemon – a grass Pokemon, to be esact."

"Huh?" Hadley looked around the room. Sure enough, she saw a small dinosaur-like creature with a large seed on its back. Strange, wasn't it? A Bulbasaur. The seed-creature looked carefully at the girl, who seemed to look like a scientist, but a good scientist. The glasses and other features seemed to turn Bulbasaur away, though. "Come on, I won't hurt you. Where's the plant food? Wait here, I'll give you some food." Hadley left the room. In a few minutes, she was back with a bowl of plant food. "Just stay there for a minute..." the girl placed the bowl onto the floor.

Bulbasaur sniffed it, then wolfed it down. Mmm, that was delicious! She didn't know what the girl gave, but it was much better than what little food the scientists gave her. Energy ran through her formerly-weak body, and she felt refreshed - just like new!

Kevin from outside yelled out, "Look, I'm sorry for breaking your window!"

"That's all right, Kevin, I'll pay for you!"

"Thanks a lot!"

Hadley turned back to the Bulbasaur. "Hey, you need a name! I know, I'll call you Flora!"

She then noticed a note next to the PokeBall. "What's this?"

The note read:

Hey Hadley,

I found Bulbasaur with my Squirtle, who I've named Koopa. I also gave Karl a Charmander. I don't think they'll like each other, though... anyway, don't tell anyone, but I got them from some mix-up of packages. I think the guy who sent them has some serious problem with Pokemon, because I found them badly abused. In that case, finders keepers!

Your buddy, Kevin.

---

Karl painstakingly cleaned his room. Whew! That was a lot of work. But at least Blowtorch wouldn't set anything important on fire. And so, he took a look around the room. It was much cleaner now! Karl then realized that he didn't tell his parents about Blowtorch. "Wait! I should tell about you to my parents!"

Karl picked up the Charmander, and headed out of the room. But he bumped into Hadley instead.

"Hey! You got a Charmander, like Kevin said."

"You got a Bulbasaur..."

"Kevin gave me..." they said in unison.

"Wait! Kevin gave us these Pokemon! We should tell our parents about this," said Karl. "That shouldn't be too long, since they'll be home in an hour."

---

Karl and Hadley's father felt nervous. "Look, we can't just take on a new responsibility right away."

"But dad, these Pokemon have nowhere else to go, and Kevin can't take care of them by himself," said Hadley. "We've got to help him out."

Karl added, "If the original owners come by, it'll be Kevin who will be held responsible, not us. He found the Pokemon and gave them to us."

Karl and Hadley's mother then told her husband, "Now, Kenny, what if the old owners abused these Pokemon? We can't just return them if that's the case..."

Kenny realized that his wife and children wanted to keep the Pokemon. "OK, Kelly, they'll be fine, but we need to tame them."

"Good! That doesn't seem too difficult," said Hadley. "We've got Professor Oak to help us. And we're going to the museum tomorrow after school. That's a good place for our Pokemon to be – learning about their ancestors."

---

"I'm amazed at how I found some Pokemon," said Kevin. "We'll be great trainers."

Professor Oak didn't seem to think that his grandson found them legally.

Indeed, Kevin did open someone else's package, and that was a federal offense, but he didn't want to tell anyone, fearing that he would get into trouble.

Suddenly, the phone rang. "I'll get that." Professor Oak then picked up the telephone. "Hello?"

An unknown voice answered, "Are you Professor Paul Oak?"

"Yes, that's me. What is it?"

"This is Conner Drayan from Celadon City, an executive of PokeWorld. I was wondering if you had a package to be delivered to us which was sent to the wrong place. We have been wondering if it had ended up with you."

"Hold on." Oak then asked Kevin, "Kevin, did you see a package today that was addressed to someone named 'Conner Drayan'?"

"Uh, no..." Kevin quickly lied to Oak, but it was for the better.

"Well, no, my grandson Kevin, has a Squirtle, but it's not the one your looking for. OK, good-bye." He hung up.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, I did. And that was where I first found the Pokemon. In any case, what would PokeWorld want with the Pokemon?"

Daisy then added, "They were in bad health, and I've heard rumors that PokeWorld is secretly owned by Team Rocket. It's probably just as well."

Grandma Oak interjected, "Come on, Paul, Team Rocket's a bad bunch. We're keeping any of their Pokemon, whether they like it or not!"

Kevin told his grandmother, "Good go, grandma!"

"Well, Barbara and Daisy, those are just rumors, but we should still wait until we find out for sure," said Professor Oak. "PokeWorld doesn't disclose the identity of its owner for some reason. I find that suspicious..."


	4. Trip to the Museum And A Holdup

Conner hung up. That couldn't be true... they definitely got Professor Oak's custom PokeBall. There absolutely was a switch in packages. The one they got was definitely Professor Oak's. What were they going to say to the boss? "That didn't work out as well as I thought."

Sandy sighed. They had just become Administrators – a very high rank in Team Rocket, and they had already messed up. "We'll have to give those up, then. But that's okay. We screwed up once, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to mess up again."

"OK, Sandy. I'll repackage this PokeBall and mail it to Professor Oak right away."

---

Team Rocket Headquarters was the grim reality of the upstairs casino, Rocket Game Corner and the Pokemon-themed amusement park PokeWorld. The establishments seemed innocent, and there was little suspicion. The HQ, however, was a whole different story. The walls were chrome and the floor consisted of metallic plates. But there was no one outside of Team Rocket who knew about this basement – the door leading downstairs was marked with an "Employees Only" sign.

The third Team Rocket Administrator, a distinguished man in his sixties called Mandroph Darkao, told a set of Team Rocket Grunts, "Now, our next move is to invade Pewter Museum and steal the fossils. Then we burn it down!" The grunts cheered. Darkao then said bluntly, "I don't care if anyone is injured or killed during this task."

One of the grunts was Conner and Sandy's daughter, aged twenty, named Rebecca Tina Drayan, known to everybody who knew her as "Becky". This young woman seemed to have her mother's looks and her father's attitude. "You're the man, so we'll do what we tell you! I'm on top of that, Mr. Dork- oh, sorry, Darkao."

"Thank you for correcting yourself, Drayan. Are we ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir!" the other grunts said.

"Like I said earlier, I'm way ahead of you!" exclaimed Becky, giving the thumbs-up sign. "Count on me, old guy. I'll be seeing you tomorrow!"

---

At the bus stop on the corner of their block, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin were waiting for the bus to arrive. Karl sighed in relief. "We're out of school after this."

Hadley knew education didn't stop at summer. "After school, we're going to the museum."

Kevin was glad to have a Pokemon like his sister. "It's all equal now, since I've got Koopa now as a friend."

The orange bus had reached the block. "There's our bus," said Karl. "Let's go!"

---

A few hours later, the bell rang. Students headed out of their classrooms and out of the school. "All right! No more school for two and a half months!" Karl was definitely ready for summer vacation.

"Guess I'd better start studying," said Hadley. She wanted to preserve her knowledge so it could be used when school resumed.

"My grades are just average, nothing to worry about..." Kevin was modest when it came to academics - he just wanted to pass.

"Hey everyone, let's get going," Daisy was parked at the road, and Robert was in the passenger's seat. In the back were the three Pokemon. Karl, Hadley, and Kevin entered the convertible.

Kevin sighed. Why would Hadley want to look at skeletons of dead creatures? That didn't seem very interesting.

Karl wondered what new exhibits were available now. Discoveries were pretty interesting – but he wasn't interested at all in archeology. What he cared about was the future. Technology had advanced significantly these few centuries.

Hadley, however, wanted to be a Pokemon Researcher and work with Professor Oak. To do that, she knew that she needed significant knowledge of the many different kinds of Pokemon – both current and ancient.

---

As the car parked into the museum's parking lot and stopped, everyone exit and entered Pewter Museum through the automated doors.

"Ah, yeah, air conditioning!" Outside, it was hot, and Karl couldn't stand such heat.

Robert told his son, "Now, Kevin, if you get lost, Daisy and I will meet you here, at the entrance."

"Hang on, dad, I know where to go."

"Come on, guys, let's go see some old fossils," said Hadley.

---

Unaware to Karl, Hadley, Kevin, or anyone else, outside the museum, Darkao, along with his grunts, had reached the museum. "Here is the plan. When I give the signal, we will invade, hold hostage the staff and any guests, and steal the exhibits! Understand?"

"I'm ready when you are, Mr. Darkao!" Hey! Becky said it correctly this time!

"Good," praised Darkao. "Failure is out of the question."

---

Hadley showed Flora the fossil of a shellfish. "Look, Flora, that's a Kabutops, a mix of a land and water Pokemon. It grew from Kabuto, a sea dweller.

Kevin showed Koopa the fossil of a large snail with a spiked shell. Apparently an ancestor of Squirtle. "I guess that's Omastar, It grew from Omanyte. I bet it died because its shell grew too big and heavy for it to keep on moving any longer."

Karl showed Blowtorch the fossil of a flying creature covered in hardened amber. "Aerodactyl. What a weird looking creature. I guess I can't really say much about it, other than the fact that it looks strange."

---

"Dad, look at this," said Daisy. "I'm sure Hadley's going to beat herself up for not coming along with us." A space shuttle was put on display.

"For a little over two hundred years, we've been trying to get past Earth," reminisced Robert. "There have been reports that we succeeded in reaching the other inner planets. Could we reach the outer planets? What about beyond the Solar System..."

"Dad, that's enough," interrupted Daisy.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to rant."

Suddenly, without warning, people dressed in black crashed into the windows. "OK, everyone," said one grunt. "No one tries to escape, or we'll attack!"

"Oh, no! It can't be!" Robert was in for a surprise. "Team Rocket!"

Many scary, villain-type Pokemon, including Ekans, Raticate, and Grimer cornered the guests and staff. "Please don't hurt us! We'll obey!" the staff pleaded.

Robert had an idea. "Daisy," he whispered to his daughter, "come with me."

"Come back here!" Darkao ordered.

"We'd better tell this to the police!" They also had to get Karl, Hadley, and Kevin, but before they could escape, two metallic clamps wrapped around their bodies, causing them to fall to the ground.

"What's going on?" Daisy was too afraid to resist any longer.

"For attempting to reveal this to the authorities, we will be taking you as hostages back to our hideout!" Darkao yelled.

---

"Come on, you two, we've gotta get out of here!" Karl exclaimed.

"We can't get out through the front doors – Team Rocket's guarding them," said Hadley.

"Let's get out through a window!" suggested Kevin.

"It just might work," said Karl. "We've got no other way out!"

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin ran toward a shattered window, and jumped through.

"We're outside, but my dad and Daisy are still in there," realized Kevin. "I think Team Rocket's got them..."

"Well, let's get to the police station and tell them about this," said Hadley. "We can't let them get away!"

The museum began to smoke. "What's that smell?" asked Karl.

"They set the museum on fire!" cried out Kevin. "Are they trying to kill Dad and Daisy?"

"Help!" Daisy cried out. She was outside!

"Maybe not..." said Hadley. "Quick, let's get to the police and tell them about this."

"Once they've left the museum, of course," said the paranoid Kevin. "We can't just attract attention. They'll kill us if they see us!"

---

When the cars drove off, the coast was clear. The kids ran toward the police station to tell the police about the robbery and arson.

"Well, you see, they broke into the museum an hour ago, and kidnapped my dad and sister," Kevin explained to the police officer.

"They stole fossils," continued Hadley.

"And they burned down the museum with the staff in it!" Karl emphasized.

"Oh, no..." said the officer. "We'll investigate this right away."

As they left the station, Karl told Kevin and Hadley, "Come on, guys, we'd better follow Team Rocket."

Hadley knew that this was a _very_ dangerous idea. "No way!"

"Now, come on, we could save my dad and Daisy," insisted Kevin. "Oh, all right. We'll stay home and wait for any news." But there was only one problem: Where was Team Rocket's hideout? Besides, they had to find out if Conner Drayan was part of Team Rocket just so that if he wasn't, then the Pokemon would be returned. If he is part of Team Rocket, on the other hand, then it certainly served them right. They don't deserve to own Pokemon.

And besides, this could be a great adventure for them – a rite of passage, actually. But they didn't really believe in this "rite of passage" idea. It was a tough sell – they didn't want the commitment of adventure so early in their lives, but they felt a call to stop Team Rocket.


	5. The Quest Begins

Kevin sighed. How could Team Rocket do this to his family? "Without Daisy or my dad, we're going to have to get home on foot. Good thing Daisy put on the roof and locked the doors so no one would take it. The parking lot isn't close enough for the fire to reach it." Maybe some smoke may make it dirty or damage something, but it would most likely be reparable.

Karl looked back at the museum. It had already been burned down to rubble. At least he also saw the guests and staff escape. And Kevin was right that the parking lot was too far away. Another good thing was that the fossils weren't destroyed, since Team Rocket got them... but this meant that the fossils were still in danger, as well, making this also a bad thing.

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin walked down through Pewter City; all alone, they had to follow the road from where they arrived.

---

"Please!" pleaded Daisy. "Let us go, we won't tell anyone! Help! Help!" It was a lie, and not a very good one, but Robert and Daisy had to do anything that they could possibly do to escape from Team Rocket. They were trapped in the lorry of the truck, where the stolen exhibits were also stored.

"Hey! Stop your whining, you brat!" exclaimed Becky in the passenger's seat, communicating through an intercom and looking through the peephole. "Now be _quiet_! Or the cops might hear you."

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin traveled through Viridian Forest. They had never reached here on their own before, but they knew that they had to stay at the road, or they may end up lost. It wasn't hard, though, as the road was moderately straightforward. Only an idiot would venture off into the forest.

Karl bumped into a tree. "Ouch!" The PokeBall containing Blowtorch became dislodged from his belt, and the Charmander materialized. A screech was heard somewhere up in the tree.

A shadowy bird fell down from the tree, screeching loudly as it fell to the ground.

"That's Pidgey," said Hadley. "I don't think it can fly."

"Let's forget about it and move on." Kevin desperately wanted to get home and tell his grandparents about what happened at the museum, especially about his sister and father.

"We can't do that," insisted Karl. "We can't leave a Pidgey incapable of flying here."

Blowtorch glanced at the fallen bird, his tail at Pidgey's left wing. What was this? It wasn't Flora or Koopa, that's for sure. Pidgey woke up, and screeched when it saw the Charmander and his wing on fire. The lizard jumped away, stunned.

The burned Pidgey flapped its wings furiously, but gravity and the fire pulled it back down to the ground.

"I was right! It can't fly." Hadley wondered how the bird climbed up... "It climbed up the tree. That was probably very difficult, since you don't have any hands – just wings. But we'll take you to Professor Oak. He'll know what to do. I'll give you some medicine to cure that burn." Hadley pulled out a Burn Heal from her bag and sprayed it on Pidgey's wing, putting out the fire and healing the burn. "I'll keep you in here." Hadley slammed the PokeBall at the bird, catching it.

This Pokemon had the natural ability to fly? It probably was hard, since Blowtorch couldn't, because _he_ didn't have any wings- well, not _yet, _anyway. Somehow, the lizard had a feeling that when he grew up, he would be able to fly.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin had made it to the road back to Pallet Town. The landscape here was much clearer, but the sky was turning orange and the sun had begun to disappear into the horizon.

Kevin then realized, "Hey! I've got my skateboard!" He reached into his bag, and pulled out a skateboard. "You're a loser, Karl! Ha-ha-ha!" Kevin laughed as he jumped onto his skateboard, took Pidgey from Hadley, and skated back home. "Come on, Birdo! Fly! Let go of me, open your wings, and flap them!"

Birdo squawked loudly. I can't do this, he thought. No! I can't do this! The bird clung tightly to Kevin.

"Kevin, come back!" Hadley ran after him. "You'll hurt yourself."

Kevin's skateboard skidded on rocks and fell off. "Ayah! Ouch..."

Birdo screeched as he fell down. He felt slightly dazed from the sudden impact on the dirt ground. At least he didn't land in the road.

"OK, you're right, I'd better walk after all," decided Kevin.

"Look," Hadley told Kevin. "You really shouldn't force Birdo to learn to fly - it won't be as good as if he voluntarily learned. Don't worry about it for right now, because it'll come to him eventually."

---

"Karl and Hadley, where were you?" questioned Kenny as they headed inside. The sun was still setting, and the sky grew darker.

"Dad, I don't know if you'll believe us," said Karl quickly, "but the museum got attacked, and it was burned down!"

Hadley added, "Also, Daisy and Mr. Oak become Team Rocket's hostages! But don't worry, Kevin's safe."

Team Rocket! Those guys were no good. Kenny thought about this for a second. "Hmm. Maybe I should talk to Professor Oak."

"Yeah, you should!" exclaimed Karl.

---

"Oh... this is horrible..." Professor Oak's son and granddaughter were hostages, and Kevin barely escaped. "Kevin, did you tell the police?"

"Yeah, we did, but I don't think Dad or Daisy will be alive by the time they're found..."

"Don't lose hope!" Grandma told Kevin. "Think happy thoughts! Be patriotic, and help relatives in need!"

"Barb!" Professor Oak yelled out to his wife. "Are you sure Kevin should be traveling around Kanto all by himself? Team Rocket is out there, and they've got his father and sister! We don't to lose anyone else!"

"Grandma, I think you _do_ have a good idea, though," Kevin said to his grandmother. He then whispered, "I'll get Karl and Hadley, and we'll blow this joint!"

---

Kevin sneaked in through the back door, up the stairs, and into Karl's room.

"Kevin! What are you doing here?"

"Karl, I think we're going to have to go on a little trip through Kanto and save Daisy and Dad!"

"Not with you!"

"Then fine, be a jerk. I'll get Hadley."

If Karl doesn't want to help, fine. He opened the door to Hadley's bedroom.

"Hello?"

"Hey there! Want to help me save Dad and Daisy?"

Hadley said nervously, "I'm afraid to leave the house because of Team Rocket. I'm not sure I like that idea."

Kevin insisted, "Come on, be a pal."

"Well... OK. I'll do it. By the way, how was Birdo?"

"I think if we raise it, it can be a good ally. I've got him with me. Here you go." He handed the PokeBall containing Birdo to Hadley. "Tomorrow, let's get out of here."

Karl heard the conversation. They're leaving. Oh, no. I can't show my face to my parents without Hadley. "If she's going, I've gotta go, too. Guys! I'm coming along!"

---

Daisy and Robert grew tired. Where were they now? It was already night.

"Come on, you two." Team Rocket Grunts pulled the two hostages out of the lorry. Robert and Daisy found out that they had been taken to the garage of a large facility. What little light was available had emitted from lamps around the place.

What was going to happen now? Daisy and Robert wondered as they were led downstairs, through a complex basement, and into a detention block. Hopefully, Kevin had told the police and they would investigate this crime.

---

Kevin snored softly, until his grandmother nudged him. "Kevin? It's time to get up and save your family! The Pokemon are all ready for action!"

Kevin awoke in surprise. "All right, then! I'll get ready." He didn't seem too impressed about it, though. The sooner they left, the better, however, since two of his family members were in danger!

---

Barbara drove the three kids through the road, up to Mt. Moon.

"All right, kids, come out. Karl, I got something for you."

"What is it?" Barbara gave Karl an electronic encyclopedia.

"That's a Pokedex. It records information on Pokemon seen or caught. My husband's dream is to fill it with every Pokemon in the world..."

"That can actually be caught," said Karl.

"Right you are! That could be something you could do on your spare time once you save your friend's sister and dad."

Kevin wasn't really Karl's friend. He was more of a rival, instead. Still, united we stood.

Kevin, Karl, and Hadley reluctantly exit the vehicle. "Grandma, aren't you coming with us?"

"You're on your own, kids!" She then drove off.

Karl then told the others, "All right, everybody, we've got work to do. Kevin, where were the Pokemon originally addressed to?"

"You mean Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa? From Celadon City. That's where we need to go. Shouldn't be too hard now, should it?"


	6. Earthquake

Right then and there, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin knew for certain that they were on their own. And that though Celadon City was far away, and the journey long and possibly dangerous, they would have to find their way. At least they could pass the time by helping Professor Oak with the Pokedex.

"All right, let's get to Celadon City." Karl ran up the relatively steep slope towards Cerulean City, but slipped and fell. "Ugh!" A rockslide fell down right onto him! "Help me!" Before he knew it, he was completely covered by the rocks. A few seconds later, he emerged free, hurting all over his body. "Ouch... that hurt..."

Hadley realized that the ground rumbled a bit, which probably caused the rockslide to fall on Karl. "Guys, I think an earthquake might be coming in, so we should get through here as soon as possible!"

"Let's get moving, then." Kevin certainly didn't want to fall into a crack in an earthquake.

Inside the cave, there was very little light. "All right, Blowtorch, let's light up the cave!"

Karl called out the Charmander. With the lizard's flaming tail, a little bit more was visible. "Let's be careful."

Blowtorch had a deadly feeling in the pit of his stomach. Team Rocket was here. He just knew it. There was no question about it. But where exactly were they? Why could he sense it? In any case, he knew where they were, and scurried away.

"Hey, Blowtorch, come back here," ordered Kevin.

"Come back!" yelled out Karl. He could hear his echo in the cave. "I think he wants us to follow him. Wait for me!"

"For all we know, Team Rocket might be here. I think they heard you," said Kevin. "If so, we're in trouble. So keep your voice down!"

---

Conner and Sandy watched as Team Rocket Grunts and Elites dug up and compiled fossils to place into the lorries of storage trucks.

Conner told Sandy, "For once, _we_ can be the slackers when it comes to breaking the law. It's good to be a high-ranking Rocket!"

"Can't say it better myself." Sandy had finally found her dream job.

Blowtorch sneaked toward the dig site. He had to be very careful here, or he, along with the three trainers, would be spotted, and end up where Robert and Daisy were now.

"We've gotta stop them," whispered Kevin.

"We can't," said Hadley. "They're too powerful for us to beat."

"Why, isn't that a Charmander!" called out Sandy.

"Oh, no, they found us!" Karl knew they shouldn't have been so obvious!

Conner and Sandy ran down towards the three. "You're Professor Oak's grandson, right?" Conner asked Kevin.

"Well, not really..." Kevin tried to talk his way out.

"Don't lie to us," warned Sandy. "We called him two days ago, and he said you had a Squirtle. And what about a Bulbasaur?"

"You mean this one?" Hadley called out the Bulbasaur.

"Exactly. I believe we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Conner Drayan."

Kevin remembered that name from on the package containing the Pokemon. "Yep, I know you."

"And I'm his wife, Sandy. Now please, we don't want to hurt you, we just have to favor to ask of you."

"So hand them over!" ordered Conner. "Or we'll have to force you."

"Heck no! They won't go!" exclaimed Karl.

Koopa, Blowtorch, and Flora didn't seem to think that these were very good trainers. Team Rocket was all that they realized – of Pokemon abuse.

Blowtorch placed his tail at the bottom of Sandy's skirt, setting it on fire. "Hey! I'm on fire! Get it off!" Sandy struggled to put out the fire.

Sure, Squirtle thought. I'll save you. Not!

Conner pulled out a bottle of water, and squirted it on Sandy, putting out the fire. "Squirtle obviously doesn't care about us. You brats!"

The ground then began to rumble violently. "We've gotta split," said Conner. "And you're coming with us!"

"Not so fast!" It was Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader! "You're not leaving with them! Come on, Geodude, let's prove we're serious!"

The rocky Pokemon materialized, and rammed into Conner's stomach. "Ugh! That hurt! But we're not stopping there!"

"OK, then, I surrender!" Brock said. Not really. He had a plan to escape.

Team Rocket packed up everything and they drove off via trucks and cars as rocks began to fall.

Karl, Hadley, Brock, and Kevin were pulled into the lorry of a truck.

---

A few minutes of rushing and bumps passed.

Brock looked around. Whole loads of fossils were stockpiled. "Team Rocket's going to take our work, just like they did with the museum."

He pushed at the back door, but it was latched closed. "Onix, let's force the door open!"

The large rocky snake rammed into the door, but it was fairly sturdy and didn't budge. "Come on, Onix, push with all your might!" encouraged Karl. "Let's help it."

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Brock inserted all of their strength to push down the door. Team Rocket was sure to catch them, but they had to try, anyway.

Onix, with the help of the humans, successfully pushed down the door. Brock told the younger trainers, "Quick, let's get out of here!"

As they jumped out of the vehicle, they realized that they still had to leave the cave, as Kevin was hit by a falling rock. They followed the truck, running as fast as they could to avoid getting hit by rocks.

---

Outside, the sky was a pleasant surprise after the dark cave. The vehicles drove out, along with Karl, Hadley, and Kevin, who just barely made it out before a rockslide closed up the exit.

"Man, I don't want to go through this again." Kevin's head hurt. "I think I got a concussion."

Hadley looked around, and saw that a rockslide had sealed up the exit. As if that were not enough, another rumble filled the area. "Come on, let's get as far away from Mt. Moon as we can!"

The ground began to make a small crack. Kevin and Brock were on one side, and Karl and Hadley were on the other.

Brock then told Kevin, "Jump!" They both jumped, but Kevin fell into the ravine, dangling under an outcropping. He hoped it was anchored securely.

"Help! I'm going to fall!"

Hadley then looked down, and saw Kevin hanging on a rock for dear life and slipping. "Quick, Flora, use your vine whips to save Kevin! I'll weigh you down."

The Bulbasaur pulled out two whip-like vines, and lowered them to Kevin, who grabbed one of them at a time. Then he was pulled out, with Hadley pushing down Flora to keep her from falling into the ravine."

The small crack had eventually formed into a massive, twisting ravine. Fortunately, everyone made it to the other side away from Mt. Moon.

But now that had no way of getting back, which may be just as well. They had passed the point of no return.

"Whew! That was close," said Karl.

"We weren't aware of any earthquake warning," said Brock in bewilderment. "This just seemed completely random. For some reason, I think something isn't right."

Hadley, the scientific girl, knew that earthquakes couldn't happen just like this. It may have been magic, but she sure didn't believe in such. There was no such thing as magic.

"We'd better get to Cerulean City. I'll tell everyone about this earthquake." Brock then led Karl, Hadley, and Kevin to the road to Cerulean City.

"Mother Nature must be in a bad mood today," remarked Kevin. "We don't know what she may start up next!"

"But why did Team Rocket want our Pokemon?" asked Karl. "They're not that rare, and I'm sure they wouldn't want young, inexperienced Pokemon." He wasn't sure about the inexperienced part, though.

"Well, it's because, let me put it this way, these Pokemon weren't ours to begin with," said Kevin. "For all we know, they may be theirs!" He knew they were. It served Team Rocket right.

---

In an isolated parking lot, Team Rocket parked at faraway parking spaces. There was nothing in sight of civilization – just a parking lot and the forest surrounding them. A grunt looked around and realized that the back door of one of the trucks was wide open. "Hey, Hans, you might want to take a look at this!"

"OK, Franz." Hans noticed that some of the fossils were missing – they had probably fallen out.

Conner and Sandy knew that something else was missing – those kids! Sandy sighed. "They've dodged us, and now we've got to go after them. We need their Pokemon! Don't they realize that those creatures are worth a fortune?"

Conner knew what to do – ask the boss to send Rockets throughout Kanto to search for the kids. "Those kids can run for their lives all they want, but there's no way on Earth that they can hide, with our good grunts to help us!"

"If those kids think we're stupid enough to forget about them, they're wrong," said Sandy. "_They're_ the stupid ones. Yes, kids are stupid and helpless."

---

The four finally made it to Cerulean City. It was a mess. The earthquake probably reached here. There were barricaded roads, damaged buildings, and spouting fire hydrants. Brock then told the three, "I'll tell the others that something strange is going on because of the earthquake."

Kevin was still hurting all over and exhausted. "All right, then, we'll continue on to save Daisy and my dad at Celadon City."

Karl asked Hadley, "All right, then, where do we go after this?"

Hadley looked at the map. "Our next destination is Saffron City. That's south from here."

'Then, let's go." Karl then knew from here on that it was a cakewalk to Celadon. But when they reached the exit, they saw that a massive rockslide had sealed it up.

"The earthquake did reach here..." said Hadley in disappointment. "We'll have to find another way out. We can't wait for the mess to be cleaned up."

"Let's try Nugget Bridge. Maybe Bill Microbyte can help us. He's a Pokemon expert," said Kevin happily.

Karl thought about this. "It's worth a try - _if_ the bridge didn't get destroyed in the earthquake as well. Hadley and I can't swim."

Hadley shook her head. "Bill's _not_ an earthquake expert, though."

Karl then insisted, "Maybe not, but for all we know, he probably knows how we can get past the rock-slide."


	7. Autumn in Summer

After a half hour of traveling Cerulean City through barricaded roads, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin were disappointed to see that the bridge was broken apart and uncrossable, just like the road back to Mt. Moon. The river seemed much too turbulent to travel through, as the water ran rapidly. "Oh... this won't do..." Kevin said disappointingly.

"How about this: we get someone to swim us across," Karl suggested.

---

"...we get someone to swim us across."

Becky watched them from behind a building. This was the perfect opportunity to help them first and then bag them! She then, in casual clothing, headed over. "You needed help, right?"

"Yeah, we need to get through Nugget Bridge, but it's fallen apart," replied Karl.

"I'll help you with that. Come on, Lappy, let's take these kids across the river. Can't you swim?"

"Only I can," said Blue, upset. "And I can only carry one person at a time. And that water's too quick for me! I don't want to be swept away!"

"All right, then, all aboard!" They sat on the Lapras' back. "Hit it!" Reluctantly, the Pokemon swam across the turbulent river. Karl knew that something wasn't right – why would this girl just ask if she could take them across? Lapras didn't seem too happy about it, either, because of its grim face.

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin headed off.

"Here's a gold nugget for your troubles." Becky handed Karl a nugget. "And by the way, would you like to join this cool club I'm in?" Club? What club? The three had absolutely no idea what Becky meant. "You don't know? It's called Team Rocket. We're professional Pokemon Trainers who are _absolutely crazy_ about Pokemon!"  
"Team Rocket!" the other three all cried out in shock. "You're with Team Rocket!"

"That's right, and I'm telling you this! Think of the opportunity."

"No way! Help, Koopa!" Kevin called out the Squirtle, who saw Becky, and popped into his shell in fear, shaking.

"Ha! You're too weak!"

"Wait a minute... I remember this trick!" Kevin picked up Koopa.

"Come on, Mach, let's show them an offer they can't refuse!"

But before she could toss the PokeBall, Kevin dropkicked the Squirtle at the shocked Becky. The turtle hurtled at her and struck her in the stomach, causing the Rocket to fall into the turbulent river, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Hey! Let me out, Lappy!" The Lapras shook its head. "Fine, come back, then!" Becky recalled Lappy. "You can't get away with this!"

Kevin tossed rocks at her. "Get out of here!"

"You brats! I'll get you if it's the last thing I do! You'll never get away!" Her voice faded as she was swept away.

"All right, then, now that we're... hey! This isn't a gold nugget, it's a chicken nugget!" Yummy! Karl shoved the nugget into his mouth, and chewed. "That was a good source of protein," he said with his mouth full. Hadley dismissively turned away.

"That girl ripped us off, and she begged us to join the organization of theivery," Kevin said incredulously. "I guess we'd better get to Bill's house."

---

Becky, still in the river, struggled to pull herself out of the water, and getting closer to the large ravine created by the earthquake. She grabbed a log sticking out toward the river, pushing her feet towards the edge, and successfully pulled her body out, soaking wet. "I can't believe I got knocked down by a Squirtle. Whoa. What a drop." She coughed and got onto her feet, and looked down at the deep chasm. "If I see those brats again, I'm not going to let them get away! They'll see how _bad_ I am," Becky declared as she ran back to Cerulean City east of the river.

---

After a few minutes of traveling, Hadley noticed that the leaves on the trees were turning brown, orange, and crispy. Some were even falling. "It's fall already?"

"It's summer, you idiot," Karl said. "There's no way it can be fall right away."

"Apparently it is. Look!" Hadley pointed at the dying leaves. "This is one strange phenomenon. First, an unexpected earthquake, and now, it's autumn in summer!"

"What's next, _winter_ in summer?" joked Kevin. "Mother Nature must have changed her routine, or we're just acting all crazy and the leaves are, in reality, green."

"I don't know, it shouldn't be like this," wondered Hadley. "I can't place my finger on it, but something isn't right."

---

Bill did not seem to be at home. Instead, an Eevee, trying to reach the computer and type, despite not having any separate fingers, was present.

Outside, Karl knocked on the door. He heard a voice call out, "Come in." As Karl opened the door, he saw that Bill was missing. Where was he? Eevee jumped off the desk and said, "Hi there! I'm Eevee... Not! I'm Bill, but I've had my body switched with my Eevee. You've gotta help me."

Kevin then asked, "OK, then, do you know a shortcut out of Cerulean City? An earthquake sealed off any exits."

Bill answered, "Yes, I do, but I won't tell you where unless you help me."

Hadley then sat down on the computer desk. "All right, Bill, what do I do?"

"Type 'teleporter' in the Terminal. All lower case, please. It's case-sensitive."

Hadley knew exactly what "Terminal" meant. A command line interface! Considered by the average person to be _long_ obsolete and a thing of the past. The reason for this belief, was because graphical user interfaces were invented. But some people believe that true computer skills come from using the command line.

Hadley clicked on the "Terminal" icon, and typed the word "teleporter." A humming sound filled the place. The Eevee hopped into the door of a machine, and the door closed. A few seconds later, a young man exit the other door. "Ah, thanks! I owe you one!"

"I'm Karl Caliduct. This is my sister Hadley, and my, well, neighbor, Kevin Oak."

"Nice to meet you all!"

"Now what about this shortcut?" questioned Kevin. "Are we going there or not?"

"Sure, Kevin! I'll help you! Follow me!"

---

As Bill left his house, he was surprised to see the leaves changing colors! "Summer's over already? Wow, time sure flies by! I'd better get back to my parents' home, since school's back! But, in any case, what are _you_ doing out of school?"

"It's not fall, Bill," replied Hadley. "It's still June. Summer hasn't even started, yet."

"Well, it should only be temporary," said Bill. "Well, I'll take you to the shortcut."

Three minutes later, Bill showed the others a small cottage. "Here it is. It's got a staircase which leads down to a tunnel to Vermilion City."

"That sounds fair enough for me. Let's go!" Karl opened up the door, and stepped down the stairs.

Hadley and Kevin looked at each other, and followed Karl. "Wait for us!"

Hadley then stopped, and told Bill, "If anyone comes by asking questions about us, tell them that you've never heard of us."

"OK, then, maybe I'll see you again." Hadley then ran into the cottage, and down the stairs. The tunnel was air conditioned, which was a welcome feeling after a hot summer day. Somehow, they didn't think that these summer days were going to continue for very long.

---

Becky sneaked up from behind, and called out a strong Machop. "Come on, Mach, knock Misty cold!"

Misty called out Staryu. "Come on, let's fight this trespasser!" The star-shaped thing with a ruby on its center

"Mach, Detect!" The small humanoid meditated for a few seconds. As Staryu hurtled full-body into the physically strong Pokemon, Mach dodged the attack. "Nice try, Misty, but my Pokemon are genetically modified by Team Rocket's fine scientists. Now stay there, and don't move. Or Mach will put a hurt on you!" Becky raided the bookshelves, and found a small disc in its case, labeled "THE DIG TM. PROPERTY OF MISTY ARCHEGUS." "It's the Dig TM. Now, we're digging out of here!"

"That cost me money! Please, give it back!"

"Stay there! Come on, Mach, let's get out of here." The Machop punched into the wall, making a large hole. He punched through the wall until it was large enough for Becky to exit. Staryu emitted a psychic ray that confused Mach, causing him to punch himself. "You idiot! Don't tell anyone, or you'll be sorry." Becky threatened as she left the house. A few seconds later, Misty could hear the sound of a motorcycle starting up and driving off.

One minute later, Misty recalled Staryu, picked up a telephone, and dialed the police. "Hello, this is Misty Archegus, and someone from Team Rocket robbed my home. Please come over and investigate!"

---

After many twisting turns through the dimly-lit tunnel, making sure any cars driving through one road passed, and fears that someone may rob them (or worse!), Karl, Hadley, and Kevin found someone walking somewhere. "Hey, what are you kids doing here?" This must be someone who maintained the transportation in these tunnels.

"Nothing... just finding a way out of here," replied Karl.

"This is no place for you kids," said the man. "You're all alone. I'll need to take you out of here."

"All right, then, we'll go," said Hadley.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin exit the tunnel through a small building. Karl smelled the air. "Ah... the smell of salty water." It was dark by the time they had resurfaced above ground. The harbors, sailing ships, and a beach suggested that this was a city where shipments from other places around the world were received. They could hear the sound of rolling waves at the beach, and the foghorns of ships sailing away. Yes, this was Vermilion City, _the_ beach resort.

It would sure be nice to just kick back and forget about this crazy adventure. It seemed too dangerous for them to brave on their own. They may as well just leave this to the police...

_If_ the reason they were away from home wasn't to save Kevin's father and sister, that is. And that was Celadon City.


	8. The Grass Is Not Much Greener

The next morning, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin woke up from their slumber.

They had spent the night at the beach. The plot of sand intertwined with the seemingly endless ocean.

Flora, Blowtorch, and Koopa had awakened as well. When their vision returned, they saw the vast body of water. They had no idea there was such big water! All the water Flora could drink! She hopped toward the ocean, and dove in, gulping mouthfuls... but she then jumped out. Yuck! The Bulbasaur spat out the seawater, because it tasted terrible. Her seed couldn't grow with this. No wonder no plants grew around here. Better stick to water from lakes and rivers next time. That tasted better.

Koopa ran as fast as he could, and popped into his shell, skidding through the sand. The sand that the Squitle skidded through struck the trainers. And then Koopa splashed into the sea. When he felt water around him, he pushed out his head, tail, and limbs, and swam through the vast sea. He had never seen such amazing sights before!

As the turtle pushed and pulled his arms and legs through, he discovered many different plants and creatures – coral reefs, seaweed, stupid-looking, stone-faced fish, and beautiful goldfish with loosely moving fins... and sharp horns on their foreheads. Clever.

---

"Do you have any last words to say, Mr. Oak?" Darkao questioned Robert.

"Tell my children and parents that I love them," Robert said in a breaking voice as his battered body was pushed into the river and swept away.

---

Before he knew it, an atrocious eel with blue scales, a fierce face, and sharp teeth came swimming right at Koopa! Koopa gasped in surprise. It was going to eat him! He swam into a small cave. The Gyarados rammed its head into the cave, but Koopa searched for a way out. Ah, there it was! He paddled out through a hole in the top of the rocky obstacle, and back to shallow water.

Whew! He didn't want to go through that again. The ocean had its wonders, but also its dangers. This must have been what it was like for Squirtle in wildlife. There didn't seem to be any end to the ocean.

What he had found lying in the ocean was a human body lying face up. Koopa had a nasty idea who he was. He swam back to the beach.

---

Karl and Hadley took note of their surroundings in the Pokemon Fan Club. There was a desk nearly filled with people and Pokemon. Pokemon were welcome! That sounded fair for them. They took seats with their Pokemon.

An elderly man with a Rapidash noticed them. "Why, hello there! You rookie trainers have got some young Pokemon, who look ready to see the world!"

Karl showed the man Blowtorch. "Here's my Charmander, Blowtorch. Careful, though, he kind of has a nasty habit of burning things.

"Don't worry, everything here is fireproof."

Hadley showed Flora. "This is Flora, a Bulbasaur. She tried ocean water, but it tasted too salty for her." The crowd laughed. Flora felt embarrassed. At least she knew that seawater wasn't drinkable.

They had never seen so many people before. There were different kinds of Pokemon as well. Seel, Pikachu, and Rapidash. Were there many more Pokemon that they were unaware of?

---

"Koopa, what is it?" Kevin questioned quickly.

Squirtle and pointed at the sea, where a body was visible.

"All right, I'll go see who that is." He dove into the sea, the only one of the bunch who could, and dog-paddled toward the body. "Oh, man... Dad... I'll pull you out, just wait." Kevin grabbed his father, and pulled him back to the beach. "Dad, what happened? Come on!"

Robert's vision was blurry, but he could see his son standing at him. "Oh..."

"Come on, get up!"

"I... don't think I can, Kevin..."

"Yeah, you can, get on your feet." He helped his father onto his feet, but after he let go, Robert fell back into the sand. "My gosh, what did they do to you?"  
"They... beat me... I don't think I'm going to be around much longer, so I'll tell you this... Kevin, do you remember the way to Celadon City? That's where Daisy is."

Kevin sniffled. "I think so... but aren't you going to help me?"

"I'll be helping you in your heart... even when I'm not there in person. Pay close attention... please, don't give any of your Pokemon to Team Rocket, whatever happens! Don't take that step..."

"Dad? Dad!" No response. Oh, man, Team Rocket tortured him. He sank into deep depression.

---

Kevin trudged around the harbor, and bumped into someone. He looked over, and saw a fierce-looking man in his late thirties. "Hey! What's going on here?" questioned the man. "What's your problem? You look fine!"

"Now, Lt. Surge, he's obviously had a bad day today," an older man with graying hair in glasses told him. "I'm sure he needs counseling to get himself back together."

"Sure thing, Ben Pyrolic!"

"Now, what's wrong?" Ben asked Kevin.

"Totally unfair... Team Rocket... it's all their fault that he's dead."

"Who's dead?" the old man asked him.

"My dad." Kevin said in a breaking voice.

When Ben heard this, he understood. "I see... well, it's not your fault, or your father's. Now, pay attention to old Ben. If it's anyone's fault, blame it on Team Rocket. _You_ didn't do anything wrong."

"They've still got my sister, Daisy. What will I do? I miss my dad so much."

"Then, you'll always miss him, but he'll be with you as long as you remember him in your mind. You'll never really be apart, since you'll still be a part of him."

This was enough to remind him that they were on a mission, and because his father was now dead, there wasn't much time. Daisy may be next! "Thank you. I gotta get to Celadon City."

Surge then jumped in. "Well, why didn't you say so? I'll take you through Silence Bridge!"  
Kevin then cried out, "That's great! I'll get Karl and Hadley!"

---

"Team Rocket killed your dad?" Karl and Hadley shouted in bewilderment.

"Yeah! We've got to save Daisy _now, _before it's too late." Nothing was going to keep Kevin down. He would miss his father, but mourning may take place after they save Daisy, or fail in their quest.

"It's going to be a bumpy ride, so you pints should buckle up!"

The three were in the back of Surge's Hummer, being thrown around, but safe in their seat belts. Surge was one reckless driver, almost falling into the water. "I told ya it was bumpy!"

"I bet this never happened during the War of 2192," Karl murmured to himself.

"Hey! I was in that war!" Surge shouted. "It's no picnic. I only lived to tell about it because my Pokemon saved my life!"

After many bumps, they made it through.

"Thanks for the ride, Surge! You're a big help," Karl thanked Surge.

"No problem!" Surge drove off.

Kevin, after being thrown around, felt like a crash test dummy.

---

---

Lavender Town was, expectedly, deserted, but some chill began to fill Karl and Hadley's bodies. Thunder boomed in the sky, and lightning struck. "Whoa!" they yelled out in surprise. Rain had begun to fall. This wouldn't be a good time to use Blowtorch, because of the rain, or use Koopa, because of the lightning.

Karl looked down at the ground. The grass seemed extremely unhealthy, even for a spooky town like this. He then remembered the earthquake and how the leaves on trees were already falling despite not being autumn. Whatever was causing those was likely to be causing the grass to die off. It was the darnedest thing he had ever found out about.

Another flash of lightning emerged. Hadley then yelled to the boys, "Guys, we'd better find shelter soon! Let's try Mr. Fuji's house!"  
They ran into the porch of a house, where the covering above them protected them from the rain.

Hadley pulled out a flashlight, and looked at the map. "All right, now that we've just entered Lavender Town, we should be right... here." She pointed to a position on the town map. "That's Mr. Fuji's house. We're here!"

Karl then knocked on the door. "Hello? Anyone in there?" he asked. No response. He opened the door anyway, and entered the house for shelter

---.

The house was dimly lit with candles. An old, balding man called out, "Why, hello there! Travelers looking for shelter?"

"Yes," replied Hadley. "It sure is dark out."

"Yes, in this side to Kanto, it usually gets very dark during thunderstorms at night." Fuji then took a look out of the window. "Only this night seems unusual."

"That's no surprise," blurted Karl. "It's fall already, and yesterday we got into an earthquake that destroyed Cerulean City! And by the way, our Pokemon would be glad to see you."

The three called out their respective Pokemon, and Hadley then called out Birdo.

"Why, they look like they've had a rough life." Mr. Fuji recognized how they had toiled through hardship and abusive treatment. "I think they've ended up as science experiments."

"Well, they're Team Rocket's, actually," interjected Kevin. "I found them in the mail a few days ago, and Team Rocket wants them back. What do we do? They've killed my dad, and now my sister's caught up in it!"

"Team Rocket... I knew it." Fuji immediately found out where these Pokemon were from. They were the property of Team Rocket.

"What about Birdo? He's just a lonely Pidgey we found, and he can't fly."

Fuji took a look at Birdo. The Pidgey was wondering why this old man was staring at him strangely. "Now, this Pidgey seems to be too afraid to learn. But that's okay. I'll help him be brave."

Kevin had an idea. "Why don't we teach Birdo to fly with the Fly HM? That's the easiest way. Only problem is it's not available to the average trainer."

"Ah, that's one problem – it's in the testing period," said Mr. Fuji. "Well, that probably doesn't matter – Birdo can learn how to fly naturally. Now, let me tell you a story about Pokemon Tower."  
"We haven't been there," interrupted Karl, "And we don't have any desire to go there. Creeps us out."

"Well, I go there regularly to pay respects to deceased Pokemon. But one recent death was a Marowak. Team Rocket's surely done it. They won't stop at anything to achieve their goals. I've tried to put its spirit to rest, but none of the Pokemon here seem willing to do so."

Ghosts, thought Flora. Are there indeed such things as ghosts, despite denials by scientists? Do spirits power our bodies? She seemed rather unnerved.

Koopa remembered Robert dying. Did his spirit leave this world? Is that what happens when living things die? Do _all _living organisms have spirits? He also remembered how he entered the ocean for the first time. Did the coral reefs have spirits as well?

Blowtorch then looked down at his flaming tail. His source of life. It kept his spirit in his body. He had to guard that flame with his life. The flame _was_ his life.

"Would you like to come to the tower with me right now?" asked Fuji.

---

Fuji and the kids entered the Pokemon Tower. Blowtorch used his flaming tail to light the place. A cold chill overwhelmed Karl's body.

That same chill. Blowtorch made little difference in heating him up.

Death. Spirits. Sadness.

These were in Karl's mind right away.

Kevin could remember how his father passed away. "Oh, man, I'm flashing back..." He flashed back to when he found his father in the sea.

"Kevin, come on! Snap out of it!" Hadley shook Kevin's body, causing him to snap back to the tower.

"Oh, sorry, I just dozed off for a bit." Kevin regained his senses.

As they went upstairs, a flash of lightning illuminated the tower.

"Boo!" Kevin shouted at Karl, who screamed in shock. Kevin laughed. "You're so gullible!"

"Stop it!" said Karl, annoyed.

Suddenly, a spooky screech filled the whole tower. "It's not me," insisted Kevin. "It's that."

Kevin pointed at a Haunter, who seemed to ignore them.

---

After a few floors, Karl found himself unable to move freely. Before he knew it, he levitated toward the ceiling. "Help me down!" Hadley, Kevin, and Fuji looked up in surprise. Hadley couldn't believe this. Did gravity begin to reverse itself? He then involuntarily flew toward the wall, smacking into it and falling to the floor with a "Thud".

"Be gone... intruders!" cried out a voice. Once Karl got up on his feet, he saw a possessed girl lifting her hand out.

"That's Sabrina. She looks cursed! Anybody got a vacuum cleaner?" At this point, Kevin levitated involuntarily. "Hey! Pull me down!"

Hadley then pulled at Kevin's foot, but just as she was about to pull, he fell down. "Oomph!" As she got onto her feet, she called out Birdo. The Pidgey clutched Hadley's shoulder in fear. Hadley seemed to rise. Birdo squawked in excitement. "Hey! This isn't possible – get me down!"

Sabrina then loosened her grip, and Hadley was thrown aside. Birdo lost his grip, and fell to the ground, flapping his wings in fright and trying to stay in the air. Sabrina then telekinetically grabbed the bird, causing him to rise to the air.

Birdo couldn't believe this. Was he flying? He stopped flapping his wings to make sure. No, Sabrina was holding him. Birdo took a deep breath, and rapidly fluttered his wings. Sabrina rushed her grip and let go when the Pidgey took a dive toward the floor. But he quickly flew back up.

As Hadley fell back down, Kevin reached for her as she fell toward him. "Thank you," she said, dazed.

"You're welcome, dream girl." Kevin and Hadley locked eyes with each other. "I was worried about you..."

Fuji was amazed at what Birdo had done! He was flying! And right into Sabrina!

Birdo took a swan dive onto Sabrina's head, causing her to fall to the ground. At that point, Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa all came together as a dog pile to pin Sabrina to the ground as Birdo pecked her head, hopefully to get the "spirit" cursing her out.

After ten seconds, a wave of draining energy flew out of Sabrina's ears. The psychic regained her senses. "Wha- what happened? The last thing I remembered was the ghost of Marowak "

Sabrina got back onto her feet, and saw the four Pokemon that lifted the curse. "You saved me, didn't you?"

The four looked together in bewilderment.

"Yeah, we did," enthused Kevin. "We've done it."

Karl then saw the reforming cloud. "We're done yet – look!" The energy had formed into a cloud that resembled a Marowak.

"Go away... go away!" bellowed the ghost.

"Let me handle this," said Sabrina bravely. "Go, Alakazaam!"


	9. Dial R For Rocket

Conner asked, "Did you find them yet?" The Drayans were in the lounge of the Team Rocket headquarters.

"Those brats got away from me," snapped Becky. "And I just became a Team Rocket Elite after the museum incident. What if I'm demoted?"

Sandy said in disappointment, "They're not in Vermilion City, either."

Becky was dressed in light clothing – the white clothing she usually wore over her black uniform.

"We're trying our best, though," assured Becky. "Those guys are pretty sneaky. But there's no hiding."

Sandy had an idea. "Becky, I've got an idea. Could you please bring me the book 'Pokemon Quest'?"

"Sure thing!" Becky then went down to the library of the headquarters. "OK, let's see..." she mumbled to herself as she looked through the selections.

---

"The ghost departed into the afterlife, and I'm saved," Sabrina declared. "What a night. Now I can head to my home in Saffron tomorrow."

"Say, Sabrina, could you take us to..." Kevin was cut off.

"Celadon City?" interrupted Sabrina. "Why, yes, I'll do this for you."  
"You're not faking it? You can actually read our minds?"

"It's been years of practice."

"We're asking because we need to get to Celadon City to..." Hadley was cut off, too.

"Save Daisy Oak. Ah, that's it. You'd better hurry once you get there, since there's not much time!"

"All right, then... what love relationship am I thinking of?" challenged Kevin.

"You and Hadley," declared Sabrina. Kevin was visibly embarrassed.

---  
Back in the lounge, Conner asked Sandy, "Hey, Sandy, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure."

Conner then asked suspiciously, "How can there possibly be a book of 'Pokemon Quest'? We're still making it!"

"Yes, but there's been a new breakthrough in the marketing of fictional stories."

"Really?"

"Really - instant fiction! It's published before the story is finished."

"Nah, that doesn't make any sense..."

Becky had returned with a book.

The front cover consisted of Karl, Hadley, and Kevin in heroic poses with large birds in the colorful background. Also in the background was Daisy being held under duress with Conner, Sandy, and Darkao next to her.

"Here you go – 'Pokemon Quest'."

"Good work, let's read it." Becky handed her father the book. "All right, let's see... 'The year is 2205.' Wait, that's much too early.'"

Conner flipped the pages. "Blowtorch placed his tail at the bottom of Sandy's skirt, setting it on fire."

"No, no, pass that part," said Sandy quickly. "In fact, never read that again."

Conner quickly turned to chapter nine. "Ah, now we're up to date!" Sandy then glanced at the book in surprise...

It read, "It read, 'Sandy then glanced at the book in surprise...'"

"Wait! What the heck am I reading?" questioned Sandy. "When does this happen in the story?"

"Now. You're reading now, Sandy. Everything happening now, happens now!"  
"What happened to then?"

"We passed then just now. We're at now, now."

Becky had read the book. Everything her parents were saying was appearing in this book! She then turned to the previous chapter. "Looks like they're coming for us. We just have to wait for them."

"Go back to then," said Sandy.

"When?" asked Conner.

"Now!"  
"We can't. We missed it just now."

"HEY, YOU TWO!" Becky shouted out. "Quit confusing yourselves with 'time travel' talk! They're coming for us."

"By afternoon, they'll be our prisoners!" exclaimed Sandy.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin had taken the route that Sabrina showed them at Saffron City. And so, they arrived at Celadon City in the afternoon.

Karl asked, "Any idea where to find Daisy?"

"I'm sure Team Rocket placed her in their secret hideout." Hadley then realized that they had no idea where that was. "Question is, where's their hideout?"

Kevin knew exactly where that was. "Oh, I've got a darn good idea. Rocket Game Corner, anyone?"

"Kevin, we're not old enough to gamble!" exclaimed Hadley.

Karl then told them, "Let's find a secret way in."

After a few minutes of searching the Game Corner's exterior, they found a door. A metallic heavy-duty door. This wasn't something that they were able to just force open.

Hadley took a closer look at the door. A key card slot was on the side. This required a key card to open. "We're going to need some sort of key in the shape of a card to get in. Wait, I think I can crack it."

"That's not a good idea," Kevin pulled Hadley's hand away from the fuse box. "Read the warning sign: 'WARNING: Any attempt to circumvent the security system may cause serious injury or death'. There's no telling what will happen. Maybe it'll blow up! Let's go in through a safe way."

---

Daisy looked around the cell she was held in. Wanting to see what was beyond, she headed towards the door, and looked through the glass pane. What Daisy saw was a room made out of chrome.

Daisy immediately caught her eye on Chansey, confined in a small cell. Barely large enough. That was obviously what Blowtorch, Koopa, and Flora had gone through before.

That Mandroph Darkao! How dare he! She had become heartbroken when he mischievously told her that her father had died. What was Kevin going to say about that?

---

A Team Rocket Grunt had exit through the door. Birdo quickly flew onto the grunt's head, pecking it. "Hey! Get off, you Pidgey!"

Flora ran towards the grunt and whipped the grunt with her vines. "Stop that, you Bulbasaur! I'll bet you're the one that Professor Oak's grandkid stole!"

The Bulbasaur scattered some sort of pollen on the grunt, causing him to fall to the ground paralyzed.

"Don't worry, grunt, your superiors will heal you," said Kevin bravely as he took the key card from the Team Rocket Grunt. "Let's go!"

Upon entering through the door, they found a large garage. They knew they had to be careful, since they weren't supposed to be here.

After searching through the garage and moving out of the way of the trucks, they found a staircase.

---

The chrome rooms awaited the three as they opened the door at the end.

As Kevin and Hadley entered, however, they penetrated a laser beam, which caused a trapdoor to open up below them! Kevin quickly ran out of the way to avoid falling.

"Help..." Hadley yelled as she fell through.

"Oh, man, we're in trouble," Kevin mused. "She's probably going to end up imprisoned with Daisy.

"That's two we've got to save now. And only the two of us can do the job. Are you up _two_ it?"

"Karl, you're a not funny. Worst pun ever!"

After sneaking through the hideout, they found a large room. There appeared to be no walls preventing them from reaching the room on the other end.

"Not so fast, Karl!" Kevin pulled Karl away from entering the room. "Look down there." He pointed to arrow pads that pointed away from the door.

"There's got to be some way across." Karl tried to jump over the arrow pad. He _almost_ made it to the unmarked floor tile, but the pad pulled him away, and he spun like crazy.

"Hey! That looks like fun! Hey, Koopa, let's travel through these arrow pads." The Squirtle ran towards the first arrow pad, and hid into his shell, spinning around the room. "Wait for me! Yahoo!"

Karl crashed into the metallic wall. "Ouch! It's all fun and games until someone's hurt..."

Koopa arrived at the other side, and pointed at the correct route there.

The boys took the route and arrived at the other side. Karl began to feel motion sickness.

Karl looked around. There were a staircase and an elevator. Karl climbed up the staircase, but Kevin was too reluctant, saying, "Team Rocket's going to get you!"

"There you are! We've got you!"

"Told you so! Looks like that Rocket girl became an Elite now!"  
Becky pursued Karl and Kevin, who ran towards the elevator. Karl inserted the key card and the boys quickly scurried into the elevator, pushing a button to another floor – _quickly_, before her Machop got to them. They didn't have much time.

Upon exiting the elevator, a room marked "Detention Block" was visible. "The girls have got to be here," stated Karl.

---

"Daisy, we've got to get back home."

"I don't know, Hadley, I think we should find a way to deal with Team Rocket first," indicated Daisy. "How did Kevin take our dad's death?"

"He got a little crazy."

"Hey girls," Kevin shouted out.

"Not so loud," criticized Karl. He inserted the key card, and the cell door opened.

"You saved us!" exclaimed Daisy. "Oops, sorry."

"Too bad dad bit the dust," said Kevin unhappily. "He really took good care of us. I bet he, in the afterlife, helped me find you."

---

Ben and Erika headed down into the hideout. Ben warned Erika, "Whoops, watch that hole!"

After a few minutes of dodging grunts, they found the arrow pad room.

Erika stammered, "I-I d-don't think we should go through this."  
"Come on," insisted Ben.

A Kadabra warped into the room. It pointed to the correct route.

"If you insist." Erika then stepped on the arrow pad that the psychic pointed to and slid to the other side. Ben followed her. Kadabra disappeared.

---

Conner and Sandy found the four. "I'm warning you," threatened Conner. "Give us those three Pokemon, or we'll have to force you!"

"No! You can't do that!" cried Daisy. "You'll hurt the Pokemon. They never meant you any harm!"  
"Go, Arbok, let's show how serious we are!" Sandy called out the purple cobra.

Arbok slithered toward the four, ready to strike, but before it could, Kadabra warped in and fired a psychic beam at the snake.

Ben and Erika both insisted, "Leave those kids alone!"

"Hey, you don't have permission to be here, old man!"

"Didn't ask for it," retorted Ben.

"Psycho, get back here!" ordered Becky, who entered the detention block. The Kadabra folded its arms and shook its head. "I'm warning you! Come back here, or I'm kicking you out!"

Psycho then shot a beam of light, which created a void in the wall.

Karl then told the others, "There's a way out! Get in!"

The four, along with Ben and Erika, ran out through the portal, which closed up as Psycho warped out.

"They got away again," mused Conner.

"Serves Psycho right!" exclaimed Becky.

---

The six arrived outside the Game Corner.

"All right! We saved Daisy!" Karl, Hadley, and Kevin gave a high-five.

"I guess it's time for us to go home now," Karl felt tired from this adventure, and wanted to get back to everyday life. Enjoying the summer.

Erika batted against that idea. "Hold on there! Don't you know about the unusual climate?"

"Yeah, but it's not our problem," said Kevin. "We're powerless to help."

"Erika's right," insisted Hadley. "Team Rocket must be manipulating the weather."

Karl then realized, "Team Rocket has some part in the change of weather!"

"We should tell this to investigators," said Ben.

Psycho warped in and moved toward Karl. "Hey, it's that Kadabra. I guess it wants to be with us. Serves Team Rocket right! Welcome to our team!"


	10. Silph Wars

Karl insisted, "Let's just go home. Your grandma just wanted us to save Daisy."

The four headed off on the road to Saffron City. Psycho chased them. "Oh, yeah," remembered Karl. "I need to place you in a PokeBall. All right, then... wait, it won't work on a trainer's Pokemon."

Psycho's eyes glowed. Karl looked at the Pokedex, which translated Psycho's glowing eyes to him saying, "Becky has released me, and thus I am now a wild Pokemon. So yes, a PokeBall will now work."

"All right, then, come on in!" Karl tossed a PokeBall, which shook a few times and clicked.

---

"Hold it right there, kids!" A guard stopped the four from entering Saffron City. "I'm sorry, but Team Rocket ordered me not to admit any outsiders."

"We just needed to find a way back to Pallet Town," explained Hadley.

"Wait... Team Rocket doesn't run Saffron!" exclaimed Daisy. "They can't tell you what to do."

"Well, all right. Jump the fence. That way, they won't find out that I let you in.. I hope."

---

After difficulty climbing over the security fence, the four made it in the metropolis. Saffron City seemed strangely deserted. Strange... there didn't seem to be the average afternoon traffic or anyone. No one... except for Team Rocket Grunts. Unfriendly Team Rocket Grunts, to be exact. But no ordinary citizens. Apparently, they had hidden themselves in their houses. The grunts didn't seem to be paying them any attention... for now, anyway. Best play it safe and not bother them.

When the sun began to turn red-orange as it reached the end of the horizon, the four reached a tall skyscraper. Daisy remembered joining her grandfather in his trips to this place. Yes, this was Silph Company, the creators of many unique innovations. Professor Oak and Bill worked for this place. This was the place.

As they entered the skyscraper, they noticed that the lobby was strangely empty. Unusual, since the lobby was _the_ place for making ideas and socializing.

Daisy began to feel a bit scared. "What if Team Rocket took over this city?"

"It seems like it," Karl realized. "The Elite Four should come and shut them down!"

"Who's that down there?" a voice called out.

Daisy then ran back out. "Let's get out of here!"

After they exit the tower, they hid at the alleyway on the side.

Karl asked, "Can you see the president?"

"No, you dummy," replied Kevin. "He's at the very top. We're at the very bottom."

"Come on, Flora and Birdo, fly up and find the president." Hadley called out the two.

Flora mounted Birdo, who soared high up the skyscraper. Flora held on tightly, afraid of heights.

After they reached the top, Flora dismounted, and Birdo rushed back down.

---

Flora searched her surroundings. Saffron was one extremely large city! _Way_ larger than Pallet Town. Up north consisted of a mountain range. The south was the sea, with a few islands on the horizon.

Searching the skyscraper top, Flora found an air duct. Thinking it would take her into the tower, she scrabbled her body into the vent and fell down the tunnel awaiting her, finally landing onto a place she could stand on. The Bulbasaur searched the air ducts and found a vent. Cool air flowed past as she ran toward the vent. A metal grate blocked the exit, but Flora had a feeling that it wasn't nailed down. She pushed the grate, which began to loosen a bit. Flora still couldn't get through. She turned back to gain momentum, and ran very quickly into the grate, which opened widely. Flora fell onto a desk. Uh-oh, some scientists. But these, like Professor Oak, didn't seem so harmful.

"That's a Bulbasaur!"

"It got in!"

"Where did it come from?"  
"Is someone trying to rescue us?"

Flora knew for sure that these were _good_ scientists who wanted to _help_ Pokemon.

---

After climbing the outside stairs of an apartment building next to Silph, Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Daisy waited for Flora to drop down a vine whip or two. Two vines extended out of an open window.

Karl and Hadley toddled on the vines, not daring to look down. As they reached the window, they climbed in.

"Hey! There's a clothesline here!" Kevin found a clothesline stretched from the apartment building to Silph. He and Daisy held on to the clothesline as they moved toward Silph. Kevin looked down, and yelled in shock.

Daisy closed her eyes to avoid looking down. Finally, she reached the window and climbed in.

Kevin lost his grip and fell down. "Help!" He landed in a dumpster. "Ugh! What a smell. At least I'm alive, though. Hey, everyone! I'm all right!" He climbed out of the garbage and the dumpster.

"We'll call you through here," shouted Karl from above as he tossed a communicator at Kevin, who caught it quickly. "Now stay there, and make sure Team Rocket doesn't get to you."

"They're not so stupid to do a thing like that! I'll hide in the dumpster if they get here."

---

"That Bulbasaur's name is Flora. She's my Pokemon," explained Hadley. "Well, actually, we got her, Blowtorch, and Koopa from Team Rocket by accident."

"What's going on?" asked Karl. "Why is the city infested with Rockets, and what happened to the citizens?"

"Team Rocket's taken over the place," said one employee.

"And those three Pokemon were subject to experiments for Pokemon enhancements. They could use this to take control of all the Pokemon in the world... even those who haven't yet been discovered!" said another dramatically.

"How do you know that?" inquired Daisy. "You know, I know nothing about biology, but I do know that it isn't fair to mess with Pokemon just to win at everything."

"We know this from memos that have been leaked to us," answered an employee. "We have spies."

Karl then asked, "I thought there were TMs and energy drugs available in stores. You mean those aren't _good_?"

"They can only do so much, fortunately," answered Hadley. "But Team Rocket wants to make drugs that can be infinitely effective. _That's_ the bad part."

---

Kevin sat down at the dumpster. If the Elite Four came and stomped Team Rocket, it served the criminals right for taking his dad's life. The others must have gone very far in the tower by now. A cold breeze flared through the alleyway.

Someone had begun to head near the alley he was in, and night began to fall. It wasn't a good idea to stay in there at night. He quickly hid in the dumpster and peeked up only a bit. Two grunts were visible, but they didn't seem to pay any attention for now.

"Let's go in through the back door so we can head up the stairs there," said one grunt.

A minute after the grunts were gone, Kevin climbed out of the dumpster and pulled off the sticky garbage he was covered in. "I gotta take a shower when I get home."

Kevin went to the back of Silph and entered through the back door, scaling the stairs.

---

Karl reached the highest floor. He could hear the voices of two men talking and disagreeing behind a steel security door. There was no knob on the door – instead, a card slot was in place. Karl didn't have a card key.

"No! I will not use our inventions for unjust purposes."

"Now, Silph, please be reasonable..."

"_Reasonable_, Mr. Stelldox? There's nothing reasonable about a criminal syndicate asking a legit corporation for machines! And you obviously mistreat your Pokemon! No, thank you!"

A colder voice then warned, "Now don't try to push it. We're dangerous and serious."

"Mandroph Darkao has been with us for a long time," said Stelldox. "And we're happy to have him."

Karl knew something was wrong. At least Silph was right to not obey Team Rocket. But it didn't seem to be working. In fear that they would emerge from the door, he ran back downstairs, hoping that no Rockets were awaiting him, and into a storage room.

---

Daisy hid behind a crate of PokeBalls. Never once before was she allowed to scope the whole skyscraper – just the lobby.

A hand grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her over. "Help!"

Karl – who was in the same room as her – called out Blowtorch.

The Charmander toddled toward the Machoke who grabbed Daisy. The Machoke dropped her, and stomped towards Blowtorch, ready to crush him...

Blowtorch, using his quick instincts, jumped out of the way, his tail torching Machoke, who winced in pain, but still lunged at the Charmander.

Machoke bashed his head in a metal crate. Slightly dazed, but still able to move, it pounced at Blowtorch and grabbed him, squeezing the lizard.

Blowtorch had begun to feel pressure surrounding his whole body, and whined in pain.

"All right, Mach, let's get that Charmander and turn these brats in!" a voice called out from outside the room.

"Not you again!" Karl and Daisy cried out in unison.

---

Hadley sat at a computer desk while waiting for Flora to return, using a computer to navigate a map of Silph. "There's a surveillance system."

Hadley looked at the multiple screens of every floor on the building. At the top floor was the president - but he had company. Team Rocket. The alarms were off, so Hadley turned it back on via a radio button.

When Flora returned, she had a key card connected to a chain around her neck. She had crawled through the whole floor to find the card on the floor.

Along with Flora was Kevin, panting in exhaustion. "I... finally found you... Team Rocket's got Karl and Daisy."

"Let's go!" The alarms were blaring and grunts ran frantically. "It worked. I did it!"

---

Karl had become face to face with the leader of Team Rocket. "We, Team Rocket, capture Pokemon from around this part of the world," said the man. "They're essential tools for keeping our enterprise moving."

"Yeah, but who _are_ you?" Karl had always wondered who the leader of Team Rocket was.

"I am the leader, Giovanni Stelldox!" the man proudly declared. "And your Charmander is our property!"

"Blowtorch is a living being, not some lifeless tool. You're crazy."

The president agreed. "You obviously don't care about Pokemon."

"Oh, shut up, you big dummy," snapped Becky.

"Now, I'm sure we can talk this over... some other time!" Daisy then ran out of the room, evading capture.

Karl had grown scared. He was on his own with Team Rocket. There was no escape from them. He looked at the confined Blowtorch, who sadly returned the look.

"All right, your days here are over," said Darkao. "Your time's up!"

"Wait a second!" called out Kevin. "If you kill him, you'll _really_ be caught, just like how you killed my dad!" No way was Kevin going to lose someone in his life again.

Blowtorch had built up his strength, and bent the metal bars in his cage. He was free and angry at the same time as he slashed Conner and blew fire at Sandy. If Team Rocket wanted super-powerful Pokemon from birth, then they horribly backfired!

"All right, Arbok, let's teach them a lesson." Sandy called out the purple cobra.

"Come on, Muk," Conner called out the living sludge.

Before the snake could strike the trainers, they swiftly got away to call out their forces.

Koopa and Flora were too intimidated by Arbok, and held each other in fear.

"Don't look in Arbok's eyes or marks – you'll get stunned!" Hadley shouted out to Flora, Blowtorch, and Koopa.

Koopa and Flora ran away.

Muk had enveloped Kevin's body. "Ugh! Come on! That's nasty and toxic!"

Koopa then rushed back to gain some momentum, and popped into his shell, skidding through the floor. Arbok, after shooting needles of poison at Hadley and Flora, was hit by Koopa. The cobra, in turn, rolled into Sandy, then Conner, and then into Darkao.

"Ah! It got me!" Hadley screamed as she struggled in pain.

Flora felt the needle hit her, but being a grass-poison hybrid, the pain didn't last for very long.

"Quick, Psycho, save Kevin, and stop Team Rocket."

The humanoid psychic emerged, and so did Becky's Machoke.

"Let's duel," Becky said bravely. "Physical will beat mental. You win, you keep Psycho, but if you lose, it comes back to me, and we'll torture you until you kick the bucket!"

Mach and Psycho, facing away from each other, stepped away. Psycho turned around first and fired a psychic beam at the muscle Pokemon, who dodged the beam.

Psycho warped closer to Mach, and emitted a ball of light that blinded the physical Pokemon.

"Quick, everyone, let's help Psycho!"

Blowtorch breathed a stream of fire at Mach. Koopa shot a beam of bubbles, and Flora whipped Mach. In an astounding flurry, they floored the superpower Pokemon.

"Let us handle this!" Sabrina!

The psychic gym leader had given Hadley an antidote. The girl was ready for action, but it turned out that Sabrina would be taking over. Psycho warped his allies out of the skyscraper

---

"It's a shame we didn't get to see any real action," said Kevin disappointingly.

Fuji was with them as well, much to their surprise. "But that's irrelevant. You've done your part here. And for such amazing talent, I dub you three: the Color Triad!"

Karl had become Red; Hadley had become Green, and Kevin became Blue.

"So, Red, what do we do now?" asked Kevin.

Karl then said gleefully, "Let's get home. We've got worried families!"

Daisy sighed in relief. "Finally, we're coming home."

"I think Professor Oak should give our Pokemon a DNA test," said Hadley curiously. "We should see what Team Rocket did to modify the Pokemon's genetics."


	11. Attack on the SS Anne

After a night back at Fuji's house, they awoke to get ready to return home.

"All right, colors," Daisy announced. "Where do we go from here to get home?"

"Well, the road at Mt. Moon got destroyed in the earthquake, sorry to say," said Karl upsettingly.

"But we could take a ferry in Vermilion City back to Pallet Town." Hadley knew that Vermilion offered ferries to Fuchsia City, Pallet Town, and Cinnabar Island. The easiest route back home. There was nothing more they could do here.

"I wish you luck, kids," declared Fuji. "We may meet again."

---

After they arrived at Vermilion City via bus, Karl ran toward the nearest pay phone. "Hey, anyone got change?"

"I've got a phone card." Daisy handed him the card.

Karl inserted the phone card and took the receiver. "Hey, Professor Oak!"

"Karl? What happened to Daisy or Kevin?" Oak asked, scared. "Are they... all right?"

"Hey, give me that!" Kevin took the phone. "Yeah, we're fine! Tell him, Daisy!"

"Yes, Grandpa, we barely escaped from Team Rocket, and we'll be coming home through a ferry in Vermilion City. We're at that city right now, in fact."

"And Professor Oak, we found out that Team Rocket is indeed the recipient of the Pokemon. Their skills seem abnormal, and I think Team Rocket messed with their genes."

"Hmm. I should give them a DNA test." Oak knew it! Team Rocket was a bad bunch. "I'll see you then. I'll pay back Daisy for the four S.S. Anne tickets."

The S.S. Anne would be here June 16... That was today. Karl remembered reading the news about that.

---

The S.S. Anne's foghorn boomed.

Daisy inserted her debit card – her main source of money. She would be going to college once the summer was over, so that money was essential. When dollar bills ejected from the slot, Daisy collected them.

After buying the S.S. tickets, they climbed up the ramp to the luxury ship. Yes, it took rides to Cinnabar Island and Pallet Town. It was just a matter of waiting now. There didn't seem to be anything dangerous around here. Team Rocket wouldn't attack a ship like this. What are they, terrorists?

---

"Police have identified a body found at Vermilion Harbor to be Robert Oak," said a news reporter on a television.

"Yep. Dad's dead," said Kevin sadly. "We'd better get home soon before the others worry about us." The authorities had to take over for them from here on.

Daisy sighed. Team Rocket was right. Security was going to have to be enhanced at home.

"How much time do you think we're going to get there?" asked Karl.

"In about three hours," replied Hadley. "That shouldn't take too long."

---

Searching for the Color Triad and Daisy, Conner, Sandy, Becky, and Darkao had also arrived on the S.S. Anne.

"We can't let those kids get away," said Conner firmly.

"If those Pokemon are found to be altered, it could make us suspects," Darkao said.

"You got that right, buddy," Becky agreed. "They'll really pay for laying the beatings on us."

Sandy then added, "I think they deserve to suffer for disrespecting us."

---

Kevin returned to the table with cans of Pepsi and Sprite. "Here you go everyone." The place was relatively well-decorated. There were paintings, memorabilia, and fine floor board.

Karl chugged his Pepsi. "Thanks, Blue! You know, it really doesn't seem so bad here."

"Red! Go easy on the Pepsi!" Hadley cried out. "In any case, I've got a feeling that someone's after us."

"Green, don't be such a paranoid." Kevin brushed off that idea. "When we're together, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Surprise, everyone!" That was Becky's voice. Team Rocket had arrived!

"I told you so!" Hadley yelled in anger. "We're out of here!"  
"You're not going anywhere," said Darkao. "We must have your Pokemon!"

"No way, Jose," insisted Karl as he ran away.

"My name is _not_ Jose. My name is Mandroph Darkao."

"Don't care, we're leaving," Kevin and Hadley ran off.

"GET BACK HERE!" the Rockets all yelled out.

Karl, as he entered the lobby, cried out, "Help! They're coming to get us!"

"High-rank Rockets are here, and they want our Pokemon!" Hadley added.

The crowd all broke into a mass hysteria.

"Come on, guys, let's get on an emergency boat and out of here," Daisy said fearfully.

---

Outside, the four entered an emergency boat.

"Let me on, too, I'm an expert." Misty had followed them and entered the boat as well. She lowered and released it.

Daisy turned the boat on, speeding away. "Let's get away from those guys."

"Missing a TM? I've got it right here," Kevin pulled out a small disc from his pocket. "While we were in the hideout, we searched a storage room and found it!"

Misty knew that it would be found. "Well, keep it. My Pokemon can't learn Dig anyway."

"Finders keepers." Kevin put the TM back.

The currents were very quick and rough. Water had frequently splashed into the boat.

Another boat had arrived. Oh, no. Not Team Rocket again.

Daisy, after being splashed by the seawater, was picked up by a Machoke.

"We got you! Come on, Lappy; let's get the others as well!" Becky called out Lapras, who shook its head.

"Come on, do what I tell you. Or I'm releasing you."

Lapras dove into the water.

"OK, buddy, you asked for it!" Becky crushed Lapras' PokeBall, freeing the Pokemon.

"It's just as well," Darkao said. "They're underwater now, and they've drowned. We've done it." They cruised off in victory.

---

Lappy saw that Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Misty had fallen into the currents. Kevin and Misty swam toward it and hung on. Lappy rushed toward Karl and Hadley, who grabbed it. Then they returned to the surface. Team Rocket was gone.

"All right! We've fooled them." Kevin was proud of himself.

"They've got Daisy again." Hadley knew that they had to go and rescue her.

"We're reaching land, everyone," Misty said as they reached a long road.

"All right, then. Thanks a lot, Misty." Karl's breathing and heartbeat returned to normal.

"No problem, Red." Misty then departed on the long road back home.

Lappy was still at the shore. It didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. Perhaps since it no longer had a trainer, it wanted to be caught.


	12. Juiced Up at the Power Plant

Team Rocket sailed back to Celadon City.

"You know, Sandy," Conner said. "I guess this story's over. We win here!"

"That's odd," Becky replied. "I didn't think villains could succeed in their plans."

"Guess that means no sequel," Sandy said in disappointment.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Darkao. "This is real life. Not some fictional story."

"Never mind." Conner didn't seem to think that anyone else was aware of the fourth wall.

---

After Karl caught Lappy, he pulled his cellphone out and called Daisy. "Hello? Daisy, you there?"

"...H-hello?"

"Daisy, it's Red!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alive! What about Blue and Green?"

"They're all right as well!"

"Okay, I was worried. Red, I've been taken captive again. Team Rocket took Chansey."

"Hey, someone littered the sea." Hadley noticed a clear bottle submerged halfway. She reached forward to take it out.

Kevin saw a piece of paper in the bottle. "There's a note in there."

Suddenly thunder began to boom.

"We gotta find shelter soon. It's starting to rain. I'll try to call you later."

"I-I hope so..." Daisy was too afraid to talk any longer. "I gotta go..."

Rain began to descend from the gray clouds.

"Well, look who's got an umbrella!" Kevin pulled out a purple umbrella and opened it.

The storm intensified as they traveled the long road to Fuchsia City. Strangely, the farther they went, the colder it became. How could this be?

The three had reached a power plant. It had been inactive for years since a newer one was built at Pallet Town. That plant was hydro-powered, however.

Lightning struck down to the ground and hit Karl. He screamed with electricity coursing through his body as he fell to the ground... He had felt severely burned as well.

"Red, get in here!" Hadley and Kevin had almost entered the plant.

"Come on! What are the chances of getting hit by lightning again?"

Another flash of light struck Karl, causing him even more pain.

"You've got to be the world's most unlucky person!" exclaimed Kevin. "That's so stupid. Now come on in here before you die."

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin entered the plant. Hadley noticed signs in the dim light indicating that the plant was stocked with radioactive waste. "This is a nuclear plant," she said. "We'd better be careful around here. There are dangerous chemicals."

Karl was burned from the electric shocks, but at least he survived the shocks. "Ow... I think I'd better not touch anything. Come on, Blowtorch; let's see what's around here."

The three called out their starter Pokemon.

---

As they searched the power plant and stepped aside puddles of slime, they found a yellow glowing rat with a thunderbolt-shaped tail. Its red cheeks buzzed with electricity. It looked ready to strike.

"Quick, make sure it doesn't shock us!" the three cried out in unison.

Koopa considered skidding toward Pikachu with its shell, but realized that he may fall into a puddle of deadly radioactive slime. Pikachu had already struck the Squirtle with lightning, badly injuring him.

Flora took a close look at Pikachu. It was glowing green in the darkness. It had been irradiated. "Don't touch it, guys!"

Hadley saw this quote on the Pokedex. "We'd better not touch Pikachu... it might pass on the radiation."

Meanwhile, Karl was in a room with many aerosol cans. He noticed that these cans held a chemical that sprayed off radiation. He took two and returned to the others.

"We've got this!" Karl sprayed the chemical on Pikachu, causing it to lose its glow. "Now we can catch it!"

---

In another part of the power plant, various people in radiation suits stockpiled barrels of radioactive waste, and loaded them into a radiation-safe truck. These had to be specially prepared and stored. Nuclear waste was deadly, and could cause severe illness if ingested.

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin, having caught the Pikachu, whom they appropriately named "Sparks", looked down through a window.

"Why are those guys dressed in funny clothes?" asked Kevin.

"They're in radiation suits," replied Hadley. "Radioactive waste can kill you. That's why they need those suits to protect themselves.

"Why are they putting those metal barrels into that truck?" asked Karl.

"I don't know, but it doesn't seem to make sense. Maybe they're just cleaning the place up. Or not..."

"Or not? Like what else?" Karl thought that people occupying an old power plant was odd.

"I think they're Team Rocket, or contractors of them. If that's the case, we'd better stay out of their sight."

On the other side, a middle-aged man with spiked black hair saw what the Color Triad saw. "If they're doing this for Team Rocket, then obviously they're trying to genetically enhance Pokemon."

Upon noticing the three on the other side, he dashed out towards the other side.

"Kids, this isn't a safe place for you, because those guys in radiation suits are suspected to work with Team Rocket," the man explained. "And don't try to stop them. Nuclear waste is unhealthy!"

"Hey, you're Koga!" Karl had become face-to-face with the ninja Gym Leader.

"That's exactly what I told them," Hadley insisted. "But they're too stupid."

Kevin sighed, and sat down on the control panels. "Whoops!" He had messed up the controls.

"Warning! Nuclear meltdown is imminent! Five minutes until self-destruction!" a voice boomed out.

"Who messed with the controls?" questioned one of the staff members.

"We'd better dash out of here!" Koga exclaimed.

As a scientist entered the control panel room, the four had already escaped. "The person must have gotten away."

---

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Koga had managed to escape via a window. Night had begun to fall, and the storm had intensified even more. The rain began to turn into ice crystals, and Koga had already sped away. But one of the scientists managed to get the license plate code – SOLBGE.

---

A few minutes after Koga sped away, in the distance Karl could see the power plant explode into nuclear ruins. "If we'd been at that power plant when it blew up... dead."

"Exactly, Red," Koga agreed. "We'd better get to Fuchsia City soon."


	13. It's Snowtime at the Safari Zone

Upon arrival at Fuchsia City, the four were surprised by snow falling.

Kevin's theory was right after all. "Hey, I was right. Winter in summer."

---

The next morning, Karl woke up. He looked out the window to see a sheet of four inches of snow throughout the town. "Hey! It snowed!"

Hadley awoke to see the same thing out the window.

Kevin unfolded the note from the bottle. "All right."

The note read:

To whom it may concern,

As you know, climate has really gone crazy these past few days. I have found evidence that Team Rocket may be connected to this phenomenon.

Much of the lettering had faded, however, and that was the only clear part remaining. Wait. There was one other phrase at the bottom.

"'Legendary Birds.' Hey, it looks like Team Rocket did something to mess up Kanto. Something to do with 'Legendary Birds'."

Hadley overheard him. "Let me read that." She looked at the note and squinted.

"'Sincerely, Blaine.' It's from someone named Blaine."

"Gym Leader Blaine?" asked Karl.

"There's no last name written on here, or it's faded out, too." Hadley then realized that they found a piece of evidence. "Let's tell Koga about this."

Later, at the living room, Koga looked at the letter. "Blaine's been missing for a year now. I think he was trying to communicate with us. I'll send this over to the authorities."

---

Karl tossed a snowball at Koga's daughter, Janine. "Ha! Got ya!"

"Time to disappear..." The ninja girl dove into the snow.

"Huh? Where'd she go?" Karl peeked at the spot Janine dove into. There were no hidden passages that she could have possibly entered.

Suddenly, he had been pelted by many snowballs, causing him to fall to the ground and hit a house. Snow fell onto him. "Hey! What's the big idea, Blue? Janine and I are trying to..." He pulled himself out of the freezing snow and turned around, but saw no one. "Who hit me? Ah, that snow's _cold!"_

"You Karl Caliduct?" someone asked.

"You're not Blue. But yeah, that's me."

"I've been looking for you!" This was Mr. Fuji! "I'm sorry for snowballing you, but I needed your attention. I've heard how you survived a nuclear meltdown and fooled Team Rocket."

"You know, we managed to adopt a Lapras that someone from Team Rocket released."

"Good riddance. I'm sure it will be glad to live with you. Where are Green and Blue? We need to go to Seafoam Islands."

"For what?" Karl wasn't exactly sure what was interesting there.

"I'll tell you once we arrive."

"Green and Blue? They're at the Safari Zone. I'll get Blowtorch down there to get them over there."

---

Hadley and Kevin trudged through the snow, which reached up to their shins. They were in the Safari Zone, which seemed way different now due to the recent snow.

Flora and Koopa were trapped underneath, hopping to resurface.

Flora panted in cold sweat, her freezing breath clearly visible. This white stuff was freezing cold, and bad for plants.

A rumbling sound could be heard near them.

POP! Janine emerged from the snow, frightening the Pokemon.

"Whoa! How long have you been there?" asked Kevin in amazement. "Teach me!"

"Not a chance." Janine then scoped the park. "The snow reached this part. Yeah, strange weather."

"It's bad luck." Kevin shivered from the cold air. "We have got to be the world's unluckiest people."

Another rumble could be heard in the distance. Soon after, a herd of Tauros rushed through the snow..

Flora looked behind herself, and saw a herd of Tauros coming right at them!

Kevin had been struck by one of the bulls and ended up on its back. "Help! They're running away with me!"

Flora heard Kevin's cries and unveiled her vine whips, pulling at a Tauros' hind leg.

Hadley and Janine quickly mounted on the bull. "All right, let go." Hadley recalled Flora as Koopa mounted.

Tauros followed the tracks of its herd.

Kevin didn't want to let go, fearing that he would be run over by the stampede. "Hey, come on, help me here," he pleaded desperately.

"All right, then, I'll try to catch that Tauros." Hadley then aimed a Safari Ball at the bull with Kevin and tossed it.

Kevin fell away from the stampede and into the snow. The others quickly jumped away.

The ball containing Tauros shook three times before finally clicking. "Now that was cool," said Blue gratefully. "We got another Pokemon and you saved my life."

"Well, Blue," Hadley said nervously. "I- I don't want to lose you."

"I know, you care about me. Do you?"

"Well... Somehow... Yes, I worry about you." Hadley had taken up the courage to speak up.

"I knew it," Kevin said nicely. "You're a great girl."

"Why, that's a nice thing to say. I don't think anyone else ever said that to me." Hadley's grass-green eyes dazzled with excitement. Had she finally met her match?

"Hey, there's a hill down there." Janine noticed the Pokemon hopping away.

Blowtorch skipped through the deep snow and found Koopa and Flora. He lowered his tail at them. The flame was a soothing welcome after a cold winter.

Koopa readied himself for the slide down the hill. He squinted and ran, pulling in his head and limbs. As he hid in his shell, he slid down, pushing up snow that hit Flora.

Brrr, she thought as she shook off the snow and moved towards Blowtorch to warm herself.

Koopa reached a frozen lake. Magikarp and Goldeen were stuck tightly in place. There was also an eel with a majestic facial structure.

Hadley, Kevin, Janine, Blowtorch, and Flora had all caught up with the ambitious Squirtle.

"Wait, where did Red go?" asked Hadley. "Why is Blowtorch all alone?"

Janine answered, "I got away from him, but I'm sure he'd find me here. But as for where he is, I don't really know."

"I'm sure he's just exploring town. He does that at Viridian City a lot." Kevin paid attention to the frozen underwater Pokemon. "It must have been a surprise to wake up unable to move at all."

Flora wandered off to another lake. The Pokemon in this lake were moving. The thin ice cracked, and Flora fell in. But instead of extremely freezing temperature, the water was strangely warm. Flora splashed into the hot water.

Koopa jumped onto Flora, pushing her underwater. The dinosaur-like creature pulled herself back to the surface.

"Hey, there's a Dratini down there." Kevin pulled out a Safari Ball. "I'm going to catch it."

Blowtorch couldn't survive in water – the fire would be extinguished by it. Instead, he tried to explain to Hadley and Kevin what had happened to Karl.

Hadley read the Pokedex. "Mr. Fuji met up with Red? I think we'd better leave now."

"It's been great to know you," Janine said happily.

"All right, I've got the Dratini to counter Daisy's Chansey. That reminds me! We need to get Daisy and go home."

---

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Fuji had mounted on Lappy at Fuchsia Beach, which wasn't covered in much in the line of snow, but the cold temperature was still present. Two islands were visible on the horizon.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Fuji.  
"Yeah, we're ready to go on our way home." Kevin hoped that no more disasters would impede their journey.

Water... Karl and Hadley were terrible swimmers. Even then, it was too cold for skinny-dipping, as they found out while testing the water. They had to be careful while riding the Lapras.


	14. The Big Freeze at Seafoam Islands

Lappy cruised through the sea. The water at first was freezing cold, but as the carrier creature went further away from the beach, the air and water grew warmer.

"Fuchsia City was freezing cold," said Karl, still shivering. 'Too bad we left our coats at home."

"How's that happening?" asked Hadley.

Mr. Fuji then explained, "Well, I have a friend who has a darn good idea. I'll give you a hint – Team Rocket."

"What? You gotta be kidding me." Kevin didn't believe that Team Rocket would be powerful enough to mess with Kanto. "Why would they?"

"Have you ever heard of the legend of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres?" Fuji was prepared to explain the legend to the three kids.

"Yeah, my mom read that to me as a bedtime story." Karl remembered how his mother read to him a storybook about the birds. "If they got taken from the outside world, then it would mess things up and probably make the world a wasteland. Then again, it's just a legend."

"We need scientific information, not mythology." Hadley knew that legends wouldn't be much help. They needed _facts_, not mere myths.

---

Barbara had begun to grow worried. Where were Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Daisy?

"Daisy? Kevin? Those kids better not go the way of Rob." She then picked up a phone and dialed the police. "Yeah, I'd like to report some kids missing..."

---

"OK, now instead of asking us questions, could you _please _give us answers?" questioned Kelly.

"Now I'm sure there's nothing to be frightened of," insisted one police officer with photos of Karl and Hadley in hand. The other officer took notes on what Kenny and Kelly said.

"Kenny, I was going to tell you this earlier, but Karl and Hadley left for a Pokemon journey."

"They did? They didn't tell us."

"Professor Oak told me. He was afraid to tell you."

"What do you mean? I'd listen to him."

"He's been afraid because Rob died at Vermilion City. You might worry about Karl and Hadley dying."

"Now, Mr. Caliduct, it's not unusual for runaways…"

"Our kids didn't run away! There's no reason for them to do that." Kenny realized that his children could be in danger. "All right, now please find our kids," he pleaded. "The reason I'm rather strict on them is because I'm just too overprotective."

"Now, I think we're all ready to start," said the speaking officer. "Please let us know if you hear from Karl or Hadley."

---

"Hey Paul! I reported the kids missing. Why are you leaving so soon lately?"

Professor Oak had prepared himself to travel Kanto. "I've been looking for the kids."

"Where do you think they are?"

"They're somewhere at the sea, going to Cinnabar Island. Kevin called me. Daisy's been – well - let's just say that she's in a bind again."

"A-ha! Then that's where we should look. Team Rocket's a bad bunch."

The doorbell rang. Oak answered the door. The same two police officers who went to Karl and Hadley's house earlier were present. "Did you report some missing kids?" asked one officer.

"Oh, there must be some mistake. Karl, Hadley, and Kevin aren't missing - they're going to Cinnabar Island and then home."

---

"Here we are – Seafoam Islands," Fuji announced.

The two domes looked identical. Both had an entrance to the caves below. The islands were completely barren.

"Good luck, children. You'll find Blaine at Articuno's altar."

"Wait, aren't you coming?" asked Karl.

"You're on your own here."

"Won't you need Lappy to swim you across?" asked Hadley.

"I won't need to surf through the sea. I'll cross the land bridge to Cinnabar Island."

"All right then, we'll see you later." Kevin ran into the cave entrance.

---

Upon entering one of the domes, the three felt warm air circulating.

"Strange... I thought Seafoam Island's cavern was an ice cave," said Karl in confusion. He had read about the islands and their flagship ice cavern. But everything here was completely warm. There was no ice anywhere in sight.

"Maybe Articuno got taken from the cave by Team Rocket," Kevin joked. "If that's the case, we're doomed because we need it to regulate our weather."

"Blue, that's a legend. It isn't a real Pokemon," Hadley explained. "I'm sure Team Rocket knows that."

"I was just kidding, Green."

Searching deeper into the defrosted cavern, the three discovered that the walls and floor seemed unnatural – they looked like bricks. Waterfalls that descended ever-downward were visible at the other side.

"I think we're in some ancient ruins." Karl didn't know of any ruins in Seafoam. Perhaps they were the first to discover them.

Karl could, however, know the directions that Fuji gave them.He pulled out a piece of paper.

"What are we supposed to do here anyway?" asked Hadley.

"We've got to find Blaine," explained Karl. "He's somewhere deep underground. Hey! He's at Articuno's... never mind, I've got to snap back to reality..."

"You know Red, that seems like a great place to search," Kevin told Karl. "Mr. Fuji told us he's there, so let's go follow those directions!"

---

The three found a deep pond that had a tunnel in the wall at the bottom.

"Blue, we can't swim." Karl examined the pond and saw that it was rather deep. "There's no way we can get through that."

"Well, you go find another way through and I'll swim down there." Kevin dove into the pond and resurfaced. "If you want me to stick with you, I'll have Koopa swim you through."

Koopa was called out. Hadley put a leash on the Squirtle's neck. "All right, Red, just don't let go of the leash."

"Don't worry," he said in a frightened tone.

Koopa jumped into the water and pushed his arms and legs through the water. Kevin and Koopa swam through the submerged tunnel. A minute later, they had reached a strong current pushing them into its direction, much to their surprise.

The ceiling went higher, and the swimmers resurfaced, gasping for air. They were still being pushed by the strong current, and it was possible that they would fall into a chasm.

But it turned that that they were indeed nearing a seemingly-endless chasm.

"Let's move it, guys!" Hadley let go of Koopa's leash, and grabbed a ledge, pulling herself out. Kevin did the same.

"Come on, move it, Red!" Kevin insisted.

"I'm... trying to... Aah!" Karl fell down the chasm.

---

Karl had splashed into another body of water. He struggled to swim to solid ground. Someone seemed to pull him out of the water. "Hey you two!" he yelled out. "I'm all right! But I'm in another room..." He searched through the darkness.

"Did you just fall into the deep chasm?" asked an unknown voice. It was too dark for Karl to see.

"Who said that?" Karl looked around. The dark cave prevented him from seeing anyone. A Magmar lit up the cave. Karl could see beside the fire creature a slightly balding old man in beach clothes. "Say, aren't you..."

"Yes, I'm Blaine. Nice to meet you, Red. Mr. Fuji told me all about you. We're very close friends."

"Weren't you missing for a long time? Did you save me?"

"I wasn't missing – I was just in hiding. I'm a spy trying to give Team Rocket's top secret information to Indigo Plateau."

"And you didn't want that to be revealed to the public, so you went into hiding."

Two large splashes could be heard. Kevin and Hadley ran to where Karl was.

"Hey, you two, here's Blaine."

Blaine saw Kevin and Hadley. "Oh, so Fuji told me about you, too."

"He went over our heads..." Hadley was embarrassed.

"Don't worry," assured Blaine. "This is very important to explain. Team Rocket has been messing with the climate. You've heard of the legendary birds..."

"Yeah, we have," said Kevin quickly. "We don't need you to repeat it."

"Follow me." Blaine took the three to a large, blue, empty altar.

"Whoa. That's totally amazing." Kevin's imagination came true.

"There _is_ an altar after all." Hadley couldn't believe it."

"This is _exactly_ what was in the book!" Karl saw columns of various Pokemon that he had heard of, but never actually saw.

"Team Rocket has recently succeeded in capturing Articuno. The plans I stole said that they intend to experiment with it, as well as Moltres and Zapdos. Their DNA would be extracted and spliced to create a new Pokemon. It would have all of the statistics of the three parents, making it very powerful."

"How's that bad?" Kevin didn't seem to think that man-made Pokemon were a bad thing.

"I haven't yet reached the worst part. They could use it to mess with natural aspects to control the world!" Blaine said dramatically.

"If we don't stop them, then we're doomed as we know it," said Hadley worriedly.

"Well, you guys should get started," said Karl. "We can't do anything about it."

"Yes, you can. You explain this to Professor Oak and we'll get started!" Blaine had to give the job to someone that Oak knew very well. Karl, Hadley, and Kevin were the best.

"We can't do that right now. We've got Daisy to save." Karl quickly remembered Daisy.

---

Psycho warped Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Blaine out of the cave and back outside. The sun had begun to set in the horizon.

Karl pulled out his cellular phone and called Daisy. "Daisy?"

"Red, we're going to Cinnabar Island tomorrow...!" The connection was lost.

"No... Team Rocket's got Daisy, and they're off to Cinnabar. Let's go!"


	15. Kanto's Peak

"Look, there's a land bridge. Just like Mr. Fuji said. We're almost home!" Karl was relieved that Pallet Town was just one more island away, then it was just a cruise north.

"If it goes out to Cinnabar, and maybe Pallet, then it's gonna be a cakewalk from here," said Kevin in triumph.

---

"Please, don't bring me to the volcano," Daisy insisted. Her phone had been confiscated by Team Rocket, and she was trying to escape to return home.

"Just shut up. That's my advice." Becky pushed down Daisy.

Chansey reared up to attack. Becky's Machoke countered by grabbing its head and squeezing it.

"Chansey! Don't let that Machoke hurt you!" Daisy quickly recalled the egg Pokemon.

Darkao glared at Daisy. "You should never mess with us. We're dangerous." Daisy wasn't sure what to do at this point.

---

The next morning after they arrived at Cinnabar Island, Karl, Hadley, and Kevin had been given the clear scoop on Team Rocket's plan.

Karl, clad in only his underwear, was mostly submerged in a hot spring near the volcano. A nice hot bath that cleansed the pain all over him.

Kevin and Hadley, however, climbed the volcano's security fence with the intention of finding Daisy and Team Rocket.

Hadley called out Birdo. "All right, Birdo, fly up there and see if you can find Daisy."

Birdo squawked and flew towards the volcano.

---

"We're getting there..." Conner said. "We've gotten Zapdos at the power plant before some idiot blew it up. That could really do a number on someone."

Sandy looked up at the sky and a large machine on the ground intent on luring Moltres to catch it. "Once we've succeeded, we could get the keys to the world."

Daisy, bound and gagged, looked up the volcano. It didn't seem to start erupting, but still, being near the smoking mountain scared her.

A Pidgey flew down toward Daisy and Team Rocket. Trying to stay out of sight, Birdo trotted toward Daisy. He squawked that he had found Daisy.

Daisy tried to cry out, "Birdo! Tell Red, Green and Blue I'm here!" but the cloth over her mouth prevented this. Still, Birdo knew what to do already, and flew out of Team Rocket's sight.

"What was a Pidgey doing out here in the sea?" asked Sandy.

"Maybe it was flying south for the extremely early winter," answered Conner.

---

Birdo squawked at the three. "You found Daisy?" asked Kevin in excitement.

The Pokedex indicated that the bird did. Suddenly, a rumble filled the area.

Karl, still in the hot springs, felt the water getting _much_ hotter. "OW! It burns! _It burns_!" He quickly jumped out and into the ocean, where he cooled off. After this, he put his tattered jeans, vest, and hat back on. "If I'd been in that water any longer, I would have burned up my life."

Back at the volcano, Darkao said gratefully, "We did it! We succeeded in catching Moltres!"

Daisy had gotten more than her share of info in this secret plot. Maybe the others found out about this too.

And there they were, obviously trying to get closer to see what Team Rocket was doing.

"They've freeze-framed that strange bird," said Hadley in amazement.

"That 'strange bird' is a Moltres!" Karl knew what that bird's job was.

Team Rocket had, however, found them. "Hey, it's the colors." Conner was confused.

"They're _alive,_" said Sandy in disbelief.

"You better tell us now! Where's Daisy Oak?" questioned Karl..

"Keep your vest on," said Sandy malevolently. "Daisy Oak's right here!"

"Mmph!" Daisy was lifted by Darkao, fear in her azure eyes.

"You've tied her up, and we're going to stop you!"

"With those failed experimental Pokemon?" questioned Darkao. "You're crazy children."

"Well, you can't mess with a Pokemon's feelings, so they're your worst enemies. Sic 'em, Pokemon!" Kevin called out Koopa.

Mach had emerged from the bottom, and nabbed Karl and Hadley. He then tossed the two into the volcano's vent. Then the muscular humanoid did the same for Kevin and Daisy.

---

Karl and Hadley got on their feet. Karl said in excitement, "Hey! We're not dead." Hadley sighed in relief.

Kevin had untied Daisy. "At least we're united again, Daisy."

"Yes, Blue, we're together, but we're also in a volcano!"

The volcano was scorching hot. Blowtorch dipped his tail and legs into the magma. It was a welcome relief after a long adventure. The Charmander felt rejuvenated all over as he climbed out, and his flame burned bright red with a bit of blue – extremely hot.

Flora attempted to touch the magma, but burned her foot. She screeched in pain, trying to cool her foot down.

Koopa wasted no time and squirted water on the Bulbasaur's foot. Flora breathed heavily in immense relief. That water sure countered against the extreme heat, but her left front leg was badly scarred.

Another rumble filled the mountain.

"Let's get out of here, everyone," declared Darkao.

In the volcano, the four could hear a plane flying away.

Inside, the heat reached almost-unbearable temperature.

Blaine could hear the cries of help from the volcano. He scurried up, hoping that it wouldn't erupt and kill them off.

Inside, Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Daisy climbed up rocky ledges to avoid the red and orange magma as it rose.

Hadley quickly called out Birdo. "Quick, get help!"

The tiny bird flew out of the vent.

A helicopter flew down. "Attention! We'll get you out of the volcano!" A chain ladder lowered down, but it wasn't reachable.

Koopa squirted water into the lava, creating a solid rock.

"Quick! Get on the rock!".

The four didn't waste any time. They jumped onto the wiggling rock and climbed up the ladder – _quickly_, before the volcano erupted. But as Karl climbed up, the lava caught up with him... and burned his feet!

"YEOW!" Karl soared out of the vent in pain, and grabbed the ladder.

They had landed on a safe island, which was isolated from the volcano.

---

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Daisy were being treated for their injuries.

Karl's feet suffered from second-degree burns. It would take a month for this to heal.

Kenny and Kelly, who heard about the volcano eruption from Professor Oak, looked at him in worry.

Kenny sighed in depression. "Karl, it's all right. You're going to get back on your feet soon."

"Dad, Mom, there's something we need to tell you..."

"Yeah, Gramps, we've got a lot to explain." Kevin had suffered from heatstroke in the volcano.

"Blaine, could you start off?" asked Hadley. Her contact lenses were ruined and she had to remove them, preventing her from seeing much.

"Very well. Team Rocket had been working on something top secret."

"Yeah," blurted Kevin. "It's an Articuno-Zapdos-Moltres hybrid!"

Karl looked at him in confusion.

"Well... that's what Blaine told us..."

Professor Oak could understand it. "I can't believe you went out of hiding to tell me this!"

"Paul, I didn't want to blow my cover. Team Rocket could have been after me."

A man in a black cape, with spiky red hair, entered the patient room. "Hello, Red, Green, and Blue. It's nice to see you in person. I'm Lance Envimorph."

"Why yes, we know who you are," Hadley said. "You're on the campaign for Kantoan governor."

Daisy then shrugged. "No, I don't want any part in this. I'm the damsel in distress."

Kevin laughed. "Can't beat your way out of a paper bag, huh?"

"Well, there has been news regarding you all. Blue and Daisy, I'm sorry for your dad's death." Lance could understand how much trouble the Oak family would be going through now.

"You know, Lance, it's been great knowing you," said Karl in excitement. "If I could, I'd stand up for you."

"Our Pokemon are very powerful for some reason." Hadley believed that their DNA had been modified.

"We'll have to take DNA tests for them." Professor Oak knew that this was just another random Team Rocket project. "We'll see if Team Rocket genetically modified them."

Lance announced, "Now that we've gotten the top secret plans from Team Rocket, we're going to get ready for real action."

---

After a week of hospitalization, the four returned home at last. Pallet Town was still unaltered, but it may just be a matter of time before it, too, suffers a catastrophe.

Karl, whose feet had mostly recovered, returned to his couch potato status, changing channels on TV.


	16. Welcome to PokeWorld

Karl opened the door to his house, climbed up the stairs, and crashed to his bedroom floor, turning on the TV. He and Hadley had returned home from Robert's funeral at Viridian City Cemetery.

He changed from his formal wear back to street clothes - a red t-shirt and his hat.

"Man, I've got to treat Blue nicely from here on," he murmured to himself. "I've never seen him so unhappy before."

On the TV, a reporter said out loud, "Our top story in Kanto. Cinnabar Island's Blaine Velvogh has finally returned going missing for a year. He refused to comment on what happened during that year..."

Karl changed the channel.

"PokeWorld, your one-stop Pokemon amusement park." It was a PokeWorld advertisement.

"Kinda wished we could go this year, but with Mr. Oak's death and all, I don't think we will."

---

Daisy had driven back home; a tow-truck had earlier taken her car back from Pewter City

Kevin climbed out, up the stairs, and into his room. He dropped to his bed and sighed. He had lost a part of himself.

"Blue?" Daisy had entered his room. "Now, Blue, I understand how things are going. We've lost an essential person who took care of both of us."

"I guess we'd better learn to take care of ourselves."

Daisy gave Kevin a hug. She said in a breaking voice, "It's going to be all right. We'll bear with this."

---

On July 21, Professor Oak had gotten news. "Kids, I've found out that the Pokemon are genetically modified and were raised in a lab."

Kevin knew it! "Told ya they didn't come from the wild."

"Also, we've found that they, upon hatching, were removed from their families for experiments." Hadley had been told from Indigo Plateau that three baby Pokemon in their sanctuary had disappeared. That was a year ago.

"You know we could just take a break from this investigation and go to PokeWorld. What do you say?" Karl didn't quite understand what the investigation meant, and didn't seem to care. Blowtorch was a Charmander, simple as that.

"Well, I'll get Daisy to send you over there." Oak knew that they needed time for fun to keep their minds off of this for now.

---

"Hey, look, we're at PokeWorld!" Karl had usually gone to the park, but it just didn't feel the same as before now that he knew it was Team Rocket property. "Hope Team Rocket doesn't get us!"

Daisy was uncertain. And since they'd be surprised to see him and his friends alive, they might want to finish the job for good. Yet she didn't think it would be important for Team Rocket to get them. "You're right. We're out of the picture now, so there's really no real risk."

"I wanna ride that Gyarados roller coaster they just opened." Kevin was eager to ride what Team Rocket had in storage this year.

Hadley then requested, "Come on, guys, we've got to act casual. I'm wearing my glasses and khaki pants so that anyone with Team Rocket wouldn't recognize me. They'd only recognize me if I had a white-and-red hat, cyan shirt, and red skirt. I've effectively disguised myself."

"Clever, Green," praised Karl. "But we're just really excited, so we'll get in the park right now."

"All right, then, I'll go with Daisy."

Karl and Kevin swiftly turned in their tickets, with Karl pulling down his hat and Kevin with a paper bag over his head. They didn't want to be known to the possible Rocket. The ticket taker asked, "Are you the Rumor Guys?"

Kevin pulled off the paper bag and Karl took off his hat. "You got us," said Kevin in shame. "Say, you're not with Team Rocket, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." It was obviously a truthful response. "But I've heard that this place is run by them. Just be careful. They wouldn't disclose the identity of the park's owner. I've never even seen the person, let alone know anything about him, or maybe her."

"We will," Karl promised. "And keep your eyes peeled – they're everywhere."

"Exactly," said the ticket guy as he handed the ticket stubs back to Karl and Kevin.

---

Karl and Kevin entered the Ragin' Gyarados queue. Kevin sighed. "This is going to be one long line."

After a few minutes of people slowly moving up, Kevin and Karl reached the stairs leading up.

"Almost. There." Karl said impatiently. His legs began to ache from waiting.

"...please stay seated. Enjoy your stay at PokeWorld." was the computer-generated voice above.

Finally, the boys did reach the car. Just this ride and they would be on. One of the operators seemed to recognize them. Could he be with Team Rocket, ready to finish them off?

The coaster, modeled like a Gyarados, climbed up the track. Karl was afraid of roller coasters, but he had always gone through them safely.

---

Hadley, looking through the roller coaster with binoculars, saw a suspicious man at the bottom. This didn't seem right at all. Then she saw that he changed the route to a dead end! "Oh, no! Somebody's trying to kill these people!"

The car moved up. Below was a large body of land. In the outskirts was a desolate wasteland. Much of Kanto had become a wasteland, threatening the existence of Pokemon who adapted to their original climate.

---

Karl and Kevin, ready for the large drop, inhaled for preparation. Karl shut his eyes, not wanting to see below. Then the car dashed down the steep road, firmly attached to the road to prevent it from falling out. The riders screamed in excitement, while Karl screamed in fear.

And he was not worried about the big drop, but rather, a dead end! "Hey! Help! Stop this ride! I wanna get off!"

Yet the car went through the wrong route, and off the ride.

"We'll get killed!" Kevin knew that Team Rocket was in on this.

---

Sabrina, who arrived undercover, saw the car gliding off. "Quick, Mr. Mime, put it back!" She quickly called out the clown-like Pokemon, who used its psychic energy to grab the car.

"Hey! What's that glow?" asked one of the passengers.

"We're not moving," said another.

"Oh, we're moving all right! We're going back!"

Finally, the car was reattached to the right route. Sabrina recalled the psychic. "Whew! That was close. But if there was any lawsuit, Team Rocket deserves to lose in court."

---

The car continued to move at full speed and down slopes until it returned to the station.

"What was going on?" asked one of the operators.

"Somebody with a psychic Pokemon must have saved the ride."

"There's something wrong with the ride," An operator said. "Someone changed the route!"

Karl and Kevin left the car as soon as they could, and ran down. Karl really was afraid of coasters now! "Let's try something safer."

---

On the Rapidash-Go-Round, Hadley and Kevin got on the ride. "It's great to be together in a nice, safe ride." Hadley heard about what happened at the roller coaster, and was relieved that Sabrina saved them in the nick of time.

Karl looked around the carousel. The sight of a few familiar people brought back memories of their adventure through Kanto. He hoped that Team Rocket had forgotten about them by now.

---

Conner and Sandy saw something unusual. "Those kids got out of the volcano," Conner said in disbelief.

"Forget about them," said Sandy, wanting to focus on the past. "I'd like for them to suffer, but they're out of the picture now. They're patsies and Professor Oak's on our hit-list now."

Darkao was prepared to abduct the professor. "We can't risk them spying on us. Project Ultima is supposed to be top secret. If the plans are revealed, we may be found out!"

---

"Red, what's wrong?" asked Daisy.

Karl had overheard Conner, Sandy, and Darkao's conversation. "We'd better get out of here now. Everybody's starting to get suspicious."

---

Flora nestled in the greenhouse of Professor Oak. This was paradise. Sunlight shined through the clear house.

Inside, Professor Oak was still trying to research the top secret plans for Project Ultima. Blaine was apparently right. The merged DNA of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres would be used to create a supercharged test-tube Pokemon.

"They might use this to further global warming, or to put climate under human control..."

Windows broke apart. An ambush was rampant. A metal clamp securely caught him. "Oh, no. They found out about the plans being leaked!"

Darkao led the grunts. "We regret to inform you that you've been leaking classified information."

"Please, we've had a very hard time since my son was killed."

"I'm sorry to hear of your son's death. Robert was a very kind father."

"You know him!"

"He was one of my victims."

Oak grew into an outrage. "You'll never get away with this!" He was shoved into a getaway van, and out of town. "OK, maybe you will get away!"

"My thoughts exactly." Darkao then declared, "Your life can be spared if you choose to help us in carrying out our plans."

Flora, Blowtorch, and Koopa were confined in indestructible cages. There was no way to muscle out. They no longer wanted any part in Team Rocket, and feared for the worst.

"It's my life or Team Rocket..." Oak couldn't believe it. "How long do I have to think it over?"


	17. Return to the Lab

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, and Daisy drove home from Celadon City.

"I think something bad is about to go down." Karl remembered what Team Rocket said at the carousel. "Project Ultima? Professor Oak's on their hit list?"

"Red, you're getting all paranoid," assured Kevin. "They've forgotten about us."

"It's not us," Karl quickly replied. "It's Professor Oak! Team Rocket's after him."

"We've got to warn him about Team Rocket."

---

Dairy drove back home while Karl, Hadley, and Kevin ran towards Professor Oak's lab.

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin opened the door. The lab was ransacked. Books littered the place. Torn strips of paper and overturned chairs were sprawled out on the floor.

"Professor Oak?" Hadley didn't see Oak anywhere.

"Hey, gramps, if you're hiding, it's not funny." Kevin thought that his grandfather was playing a prank on them.

Karl dug through the recycling bin, fishing through discarded paper. "Hey, there's a note on the top." He took the crumpled piece of paper out.

The note read: "Karl, Hadley, and Kevin, I know you'll find this sooner or later. Team Rocket has abducted me. I'm afraid that they were involved in the disasters plaguing Kanto. We appear to be ready, as Mandroph Darkao has ordered his grunts to pull out of Pallet. I've put a secret homing device in my shoe. Your Pokedex will be able to signify where I'm at by now. Hurry! I need your help."

It was signed, "Professor Paul Oak."

Karl said in disbelief, "We shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess in the first place. They got what they wanted, and won."

"Yeah," Kevin agreed. "They might be anywhere by now. We've got no idea where they went. They got their Pokemon back, and they defeated us…"

A homing device… "We sure do have an idea!" Hadley exclaimed in excitement. "We can use the Pokedex to track him down!"

Karl pulled his Pokedex from his pocket. "This is real useful. The 'dex can be used to translate a Pokemon's cries _and_ for homing devices!"

"Whoa, Gramps _really_ thought ahead."

Karl went outside, and pointed his Pokedex in every direction, trying to get a signal.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Hmm... 36' 17' north, 86' 18' west. I think Green should look at this."

---

Hadley input the coordinates on the lab's computer. It pointed to an isolated location somewhere above and between Pewter City and Indigo Plateau. It was somewhere in the mountains. The location was also blocked. "It's blocked. Why?"

"'Cause it's probably some top secret facility," blurted Kevin. "Guess they don't want anyone trying to sneak up on them."

"Try getting directions to there, Green." Karl knew that they could find out what was there if they went personally.

Kevin sighed as he scoped the lab. Time to start cleaning up this place.

---

Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa were in a lab. Where their story began. Only this time, it all came together. They were about to witness "Ultima", the ultra-power bird with the DNA of the three legendary bird Pokemon.

Professor Oak was confined in a cell. "What's going on here? What happened?" He had awakened to find himself in a lab. The three Pokemon were visible. "Something's about to come down soon..."

---

Karl, Hadley, Kevin, Daisy, and Bill drove through Pewter City up into Pewter Canyon. The road grew rockier.

Much of the canyon was a wasteland – unnaturally. There were no plants at all.

"We've got to follow the coordinates to where Professor Oak's being held." Karl, however, would need Psycho to be the navigator. "Come on Psycho, let's get to the lab where you came from!"

Psycho didn't understand what Karl meant.

The Pokedex read, "I'm sorry, Karl. I have no idea what you're talking about. I cannot teleport to places I have never seen before. All I know of my past is that I met Becky when she was a grunt. But nothing before then."

Team Rocket Pokemon had their memories wiped upon receipt by Team Rocket. Hadley then asked, "Do you remember the coordinates 36' 17' north, 86' 18' west?"

Psycho didn't remember, but he could still tell where the coordinates pinpointed. He pointed northwest. "I shall guide you there."

"Let's get moving," Bill announced. "Psycho would know where to go. Let's listen to him. Psychic Pokemon are smarter than computers."

Strong wind blew through. "Whoa! I think it lifted me off the ground for a second," said Kevin.

"Well, how worse could it get?" asked Karl.

---

"You _had_ to ask, didn't you?" questioned Kevin.

Dust blew through the canyon, obscuring anything through the windshield.

"I can't see a thing," complained Daisy. "I think Psycho should go behind the wheel."

Psycho, however, pushed the car using his psychic abilities to avoid falling down a chasm. "_We can only proceed further on foot. I will still guide you through."_

The five followed the Kadabra through the dust storm, exiting and locking the vehicle.

Karl coughed frequently. "This'll really clog my lungs."

Suddenly, the storm stopped, and a sunset cleared.

"Huh? Dust storms don't usually stop instantly," Hadley said in wonder.

"There's some deep chasm and stepping stones across." Karl noticed that it led to an obscure building in the distance. "I bet if we cross the chasm, we could get there in no time."

Karl jumped toward the first stone. It was a very long way down. But he had to look across, not up or down. Scared, he quickly jumped the stones across, not knowing that he succeeded. "Man, I don't want to go through that again!"

Hadley jumped halfway through, timidly, knowing that Psycho would grab her if she fell. "Still gotta be careful..." After jumping, she tripped and fell. "Heeelllppp..."

Psycho telekinetically lifted Hadley, and put her at the other side. He had to conserve his psychic energy in case he would need it at the destination.

Kevin shut his eyes. "I'm not looking down." He walked toward the first stone, but didn't realize he was about to fall down the chasm. "Whoa!"

Daisy pulled him away. "Blue, don't look down, but please, watch where you're going."

"All right, then, here goes nothing." Determined, Kevin jumped the stones quickly, his eyes locked on the other side. He then hurled himself to solid ground. "Yeah! I made it through!"

But the stones collapsed. Daisy and Bill couldn't make it through.

"We'll need to find another way across." Bill knew that Team Rocket would obviously need some practical road across the chasm. But where?

Bill and Daisy ran to find an alternative road. Karl, Hadley, and Kevin headed toward the long road to their goal.

---

After the long road, night had almost fallen. The sun had almost disappeared from the horizon. Dust began to build up in the wind, but it wasn't as intense as in the storm.

Looming over them was the blocked spot. A large base. Strobe lights patrolled the base.

Bill pulled out his cell phone. "Lance, we're at the base."

"Good work! We'll head down there right away." Bill hung up.

"We'd better stay out of sight," Hadley reminded. "It looks like tight security."

A tall security fence sealed in the base.

Kevin examined the fence. "It doesn't look that tall to me. Let's climb it!"

"I'm with ya, Blue!"

Karl and Kevin put their hands and feet onto the fence. But they felt a shocking sensation all over their bodies and fell to the ground.

"That fence is electrified," Hadley said in surprise. "We'll need to try another way in."

Karl ran to the entrance, but skidded to a halt. "Whoa. A force field." He didn't dare touch the red beams, because he could get fried.

"Let me handle them," said another voice. Bill and Daisy had caught up with them. "I'll try deactivating the force field."

Hadley and Bill _carefully_ pried open the fuse box. After a few minutes of tinkering with the fuses, and an electric shock to Bill, they had deactivated the force field. Daisy and Bill entered first, but a motion sensor alarm was triggered.

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin ran away from the base, out of sight. Daisy and Bill tried to escape, but metallic clamps had caught them, causing the two to fall to the ground.

"Bill, I'm afraid..." Daisy was speechless after that.

"Don't worry, Daisy. Lance knows we're here, so he and the rest of the Elite Four will rescue us and stomp Team Rocket."

"Come on, you two, let's get moving," said one grunt.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin, out of sight from guards, wondered what happened to Bill and Daisy, but it didn't appear good.

"Psycho, come on out!" ordered Karl.

The Kadabra surveyed his surroundings, and vaguely remembered the lab. It had all come back to him. He warped the three into the base, away from surveillance.

---

"All right, we're in." Karl could see that Daisy and Bill had already been taken into the base. "But I'm not sure I'd want to be in here! But we've got a boatload of work to do in there."

Kevin tried to punch a window to break it, but it was too strong. "Hey, this is Plexiglas. What gives?"

Hadley knew that surveillance was still in effect. They would have to pass it. "We've got to overload the security's power. Go, Sparks!"

The Pikachu checked his surroundings. Compared to the Power Plant, this was majestic. Seeing the fuse boxes, the electric mouse powered up its cheeks, and shot a beam of lightning at the fuse boxes. The strobe lights overloaded with power, and shut down.

"Now's our chance. Let's go!" Karl led Hadley and Kevin into a side entrance.


	18. Birth of Ultima

Karl surveyed the surroundings. They had entered the inside of the base. "This could be dangerous."

They entered a hallway, staying out of sight from any passing grunts. They were weak without their starter Pokemon, and had to find them first.

"We're going to need a map of the place," Kevin admitted. "How are we going to find anyone in this big lab?"

"We'll need to use Professor Oak's homing device to track him down." Hadley then realized, "Wait, we'll need some kind of map for the Pokedex to pinpoint the location. You're right, Blue."

---

Daisy and Bill were confined in small cells.

"What's your plan, Bill? We've got to get back to Green, Red, and Blue."

Bill then eyed Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa. "I think I've got an idea. Hey, Pokemon!" The three then looked at Bill. "Try forcing your way out."

Blowtorch tried to set the cell on fire, but then realized that this wouldn't be possible with steel.

Koopa considered ramming through with his shell, but there wasn't enough room to gain speed, and the bars would be too strong, anyway.

Flora, however, could reach beyond the cell – with her vine whips. She pulled out her whips, and lashed them outward. The only problem was: what was she supposed to do now? She shrugged at Bill, confused.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin entered a room.

Hadley sat down at a terminal. "Let's see the status on Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa."

"Or Ultima?" Karl added.

Hadley used the Search feature on the desktop to search all the servers for "Ultima".

After clicking on the results, an error message, "You do not have the permissions necessary to view 'Ultima Final.pdf'" appeared as a dialog box.

"It's locked," Kevin said in disappointment. "They must really be uptight about security."

"Hold on, I think I can send a bot in there to crawl the server."

After a few minutes of typing, she pressed "OK" Soon after, she had received the "Ultima Final.pdf file. Also included were PDF files regarding the three other Pokemon.

Hadley saved the files onto her USB flash drive and printed them.

"We'd better not stay here any longer," Karl warned as he took the papers. "Sooner or later, somebody's going to find us in here. We'd better read these somewhere else."

---

In a room, test tubes populated one side, filled with purple ooze. The Pokemon inside were reaching maturity, ready to be released from their tubes.

One of these, however, obviously wasn't any of the known one hundred and fifty Pokemon.

It had the head of Articuno, the body of Zapdos, and the legs and wings of Moltres. In other words, a hybrid of these Pokemon.

"OK, we've run the diagnostics." Sandy checked the digital dials on the hybrid's tube. "Ultima's in excellent health."

Conner then blurted, "We've reached, what, the climax of this story?"

"Pretty much," agreed Sandy. "I bet those kids are in the lab right now."

Darkao was confused. "Please, get this story talk out of your head. It's distracting."

---

Flora cracked her right whip at a lab coat. _There has to be some sort of key in that coat!_

But she had no idea how to get the key out of there, or if there was even one in there. She then realized that she would have to search the pockets for anything. If anyone was about to come in here, she had to act _fast_.

Finally, her whip pulled out a key card attached to a chain. Letting it slide down her whip, she pointed it towards Blowtorch, who took the card.

The Charmander poked his arm out, searching for a slot to insert the card. Upon finding one on his right, he pulled his arm in, took the card, and inserted it.

He heard a "click" and pushed the door open, leaping down, taking the card with him.

Blowtorch looked at Flora and Koopa. They were too high up for him.

"Get something to stand on," Daisy suggested.

Blowtorch examined the room for something, and found a flat board. He stood up on the board, but it hardly made any difference.

"Get a crate," directed Professor Oak, gesturing what one would look like.

Blowtorch scoped the room, and pushed a small metal crate over to Flora's cell.

He could finally reach the card slot, inserting the card.

A "click" was heard. Blowtorch pulled open the door. Flora emerged and leaped to the metal floor. Why didn't she think of _this_ before?

_"Why didn't you think of that the last time we were here?" _Blowtorch asked curiously.

_"I didn't know I could," _said Flora._ "Plus, there wasn't some careless scientist who left his card in his lab coat before."_

_"Hey! Let me out!"_

Blowtorch then released Koopa.

People had entered the room.

Metal clamps had caught the three.

"A-ha! I didn't think you wanted to relive those bad memories." Darkao was the leader.

Blowtorch grew angry. His flaming tail turned to a bright blue color. He took a deep breath, but the clamp was too uncomfortable for him to attack.

---

Karl, Hadley, and Kevin reached the test tube room. Nobody else was around, fortunately.

Hadley then saw the hybrid bird Pokemon in a tube. It was still asleep. The bird looked like the drawing on the plans.

"That's Ultima," she said in shock.

"Wow! It's got three parents!" exclaimed Kevin. "Totally messed up."

"Come to think of it, where are the parents?" Karl saw the child, but not the parents. "What are we supposed to do with Ultima?"

"We've gotta terminate it for the good of the world!"

"Not so fast, pals!" Becky had run into the room. "You're not getting away with that! You're coming with me, buddies! And I'd like you to meet some of my friends."

"We're the Rocket Brothers!" one Team Rocket Grunt declared. "I'm Hans Sontial."

"The name's Franz. We've got a gig to run, so you're not going anywhere."

"Horst here, and if you try to run, we'll attack!"

"I'm Klaus, and we would be proud if you joined us for our lab experiments."

"You guys aren't so tough." Kevin wasn't convinced. An Elite and four grunts? What a joke! Koopa would... wait, he didn't have Koopa.

"Let's go, Psycho, let's teach your old trainer a lesson!"

"You call out any Pokemon, and Mach will crush your head," warned Becky.

"I give up," said Karl in defeat. "You can take us prisoner."

---

Flora, Blowtorch, and Koopa were dangling over a vat of glowing yellow liquid, their feet chained to the ceiling. Scientists were their audience.

What was this, some kind of dipping show? That didn't sound so exciting.

But the strange part was that the yellow ooze would do something to the Pokemon.

Blowtorch dangled himself, hoping that once he fell, he would fall away from the vat. But then they would toss him in anyway, and he stopped.

Koopa considered spinning in his shell to break free, but his legs had to be free for that to happen.

Flora was upside-down, and couldn't focus to use her vine whips.

---

Karl was pushed into some room somewhere.

"Well, long time no see." He had come face to face with the leader, Giovanni, once again. "I knew that you'd come here to stop our plans again. You failed to foil our plan at Silph, and you'll fail again, especially without your powerful Pokemon."

"Where are they?" questioned Karl.

"Oh, don't worry, your friends will see what's going to happen."

"What are you talking about?"

"Insta-evolution!"

Karl then knew that Team Rocket could fully control Pokemon. With Ultima, they could control the climate, and possibly the other planets.

---

"Drop the Pokemon!" ordered Darkao.

The Pokemon were released from their chains and into the vat.

All the Pokemon bunch could see was yellow. Everything was warm, but they could feel themselves growing bigger... and bigger... and _bigger_! They struggled to pull themselves to the surface.

The three splashed out of the vat. As they exit, however, they looked at the reflective metal floor to see that something horrible had happened.

Blowtorch was now a Charizard. He could now fly, but was now much too big and dangerous to live in Karl and Hadley's house.

Flora was now a Venusaur. Her whips were now much longer and her seed had bloomed into a full flower.

Koopa was now a Blastoise. His shell now had water guns in it.

"What happened?" Kevin couldn't believe what he had just saw.

"They're... evolved... I don't get it." Hadley couldn't stand how Team Rocket could control a Pokemon's evolution.

Enraged, the three roared out, destroying much of the room. Much of the people left in panic, trying to stay out of the way.

The fully-evolved Pokemon stormed the facility, breaking all of the test tubes. Ultima was now free to roam the world.

"Yes! We've done it! Ultima may now roam the earth and control the world!" Darkao had done it. Giovanni would be pleased.

"Oh, no! They could melt the ice caps or erupt all of the volcanoes!" Hadley had lots of ideas of what could happen next..

---

"Now Karl, I must admit that I merely wanted to take control of weather..."

"Well, that just comes naturally, you know." Meteorology was weather and climate. "Humans are helpless to change it. We're not meant to do that."

"Now that Ultima is free, I've chosen to let you go."

---

The Elite Four had arrived at the lab to see a Charizard burst out.

"Ultima is free." Lance couldn't believe it.

Lorelei saw Blowtorch flying towards the hybrid. "But Charizard's chasing it!"

"You're right!" Bruno saw that Koopa was trying to fire water at the bird to stun it.

Karl emerged from the doors. "We saw it! Those Pokemon evolved! Blowtorch! Get down here!"

Rockets had left the building in a hurry. Blowtorch flew down.

"What happened to everyone else?"

The Pokedex showed that Blowtorch said, "They're off to a ravine that extends down to Mt. Moon. Force fields immobilized Flora and Koopa, but I escaped. Hop on! I'll take you to the ravine. No time to lose!"

"All right, then, let's go!" Karl mounted the Charizard. "Yah!"

Blowtorch then flew away with Karl.


	19. Endgame

Agatha and Lance stormed the boss' office. There were overturned chairs and a messy desk. But Giovanni was nowhere to be found.

"What the blazes is going on?" Agatha wondered. "That guy got away with it!"

Lance sighed. "We were too late. This world is doomed as we know it."

"Now, don't say that, Lance, I'm sure Red will solve everything tonight."

"I suppose you're right. Red would go through everything to save his friends.

---

Conner and Sandy were approached by Bruno's Hitmonchan, who boxed their faces.

The two fell to the ground with crushed faces.

"Ow! I got a nose-bleed!" Conner whined.

"You freaks!" Sandy's glasses had been fractured. "You obviously have something against Team Rocket!"

"Of course we do!" Bruno retorted. "Right, Lorelei?"

"You got that right, Bruno!"

"Hi, Lorelei!" Conner greeted. "It's been a while since we've seen you."

"I should say that first, Conner!" Sandy pushed him.

"Sorry, Sandy..."

"Don't be, Conner."

---

A large clunky truck drove through the canyon.

Kevin, Hadley, Daisy, Bill, and Professor Oak were in the back, along with Flora and Koopa, who were frozen in force fields.

"Let us out of here! You can't do this! We'll tell the cops where we are!" Kevin strained to get himself and his fellow prisoners free.

"Now, come on, Blue," Hadley tried to calm Kevin down. "We can't lose hope!" She then whispered, "Red's still out there..."

"For once, I'd like him to help us." Kevin then knew how Karl would crawl a mile of rock to save them.

Bill then admitted, "Yes, I was involved in leaking information."

"We knew it!" Becky shouted victoriously. "We know to toss you down a waterfall."

"We never asked you that, Bill," Oak said. "I guess you just wanted to tell them the whole truth before... you die..." Oak was scared. "I'm scared. Red has no time to lose."

"A... waterfall..." Daisy tried to delude herself from the idea that they were about to be thrown off the canyon. "Bill, I'm scared."

"It's all right, Daisy." Bill and Daisy huddled together. "Red will save us. With Blowtorch, he's unstoppable."

Professor Oak then hoped that Karl would survive. "It's a long shot, but he's brave."

---

Blowtorch scoped the canyon. "What is it? You see them?" The Charizard nodded as he swooped down. "Hang on, we're coming!"

---

A steep, towering waterfall thundered down to a deep ravine. Up at the edge, Daisy and Kevin were tied to hooks with hoists.

"Are you ready, kids?" Becky asked.

"No, I'm not," Kevin said quickly.

"Well, too bad," said Darkao. "You're going to be Gyarados food."

Hadley, Bill, and Oak were still in the truck with the frozen Pokemon.

Hadley could see outside that Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos were also frozen in force fields. "There they are! We've got to release them."

"It doesn't look good, kids," Professor Oak saw that Daisy and Kevin were about to be fed to Gyarados. "I can't see any way out of this one."

Hadley said impatiently, "Come on, move it, Red!"

---

Karl dismounted Blowtorch, just a mile before the truck. "I've got to be really sneaky to save them."

He ran toward the waterfall, and quickly stopped when he was near the point that Team Rocket would see him.

His friends, however, could see him.

"Look, that's Red!" Hadley couldn't believe it.

"Blue and Daisy are going to be fed to Gyarados," Oak said hurriedly. "You've gotta hurry!"

"All right, I'll hurry. What do I do?"

"They're being lowered with hoists. If you turn off the power, you'll stall Team Rocket, and you can get us out," Hadley explained.

"All right, then." Karl knew that he wouldn't have much time to do so, and would have to act _quickly_ if he wanted to save everyone. He sneaked toward the hoist. No one was paying any attention. Using this, Karl turned the key and confiscated it. He then ran out of sight before anyone would see him.

"What the heck?" Becky couldn't understand it. "The darn power went out, and the keys disappeared as well!"

Out of sight, Karl knew that he would have to sneak up the truck without anyone seeing him. This was going to prove to be tough.

"Psst! Blowtorch! Make a distraction, and I'll sneak up the truck and open the roof in the back. Then the others will be free.

The Charizard nodded. Karl then realized that he would be visible due to Blowtorch's flame, and quickly ducked out of the way.

"Oh, it's that Charizard," Becky said unsurprisingly. "Get out of here, and get on with your life."

Blowtorch began to intensify.

Karl climbed up the cage and unlocked the roof. "Come on! Let's shut down Team Rocket for good!"

---

Lorelei came face to face with her aunt Sandy. "Well, Aunt Sandy, I didn't expect you to turn to a life of crime."

Sandy then answered, "I know what you're thinking."  
"Oh, no. You have no idea. Look, you and Uncle Conner brought Becky, but forgot Conrad? And how you've never actually met me before?"

"Don't worry about Conrad. He's with my brother," Conner explained.

Sandy then corrected Lorelei. "I did meet you as a teenager."

"Well, I'm twenty-three now. That was eight years ago."  
"I'm Lorelei Casabic, and this is called 'Casabic's Blue Freeze'. Come on, Seel, let's teach Aunt Sandy a lesson!"

Seel shot a beam of ice at Conner and Sandy. "Ah, that's cold... Lorelei, don't..."

Conner pleaded as he froze, "Please... be reasonable..."

"Oh, your freezing's just the beginning. When the Color Triad gets back, you'll be all warmed up."

---

"You're not kidding, are you? I'd better hit the road, then, you're serious about frying me!" Becky then turned back and ran to see Darkao. "Mr. Darkao! That Charizard's gonna kill me!"

Blowtorch finally breathed a stream of flames at Becky, frying her.

"Yaaah! That burns! IT BURNS!" Becky jumped down into the ravine and into the water, only having the strength to pull herself to the ledge, away from Gyarados.

Darkao, Kevin and Daisy saw Becky deep down.

"Ow... that's a rough way to go..." Kevin then cried out, "Hey! I bet Red and Green are trying to stop you!"

Karl and Hadley were trying to figure out how to release the frozen Pokemon.

"We've got to turn it off," blurted Karl.

"There isn't any way to turn it off! We'll have to blow it up." Hadley called out Sparks. "Come on, Sparks, let's save our fellow friends."

Sparks juiced the force field. It intensified the force at first, but after enough voltage, the machines overloaded, and Flora and Koopa were suddenly free!

But no time to party now.

Koopa dashed towards Darkao, and rolled in his shell, knocking the man down into the ravine.

Koopa sped to a ledge, trying to avoid falling down the waterfall.

Darkao then screeched, "No! I can't believe this is happening!"

"Hey, Mr. Dorko," a badly-charred Becky said weakly. "You're about to fall down the waterfall while I'm left here to die."

"Huh?" He turned around and saw that he was reaching the edge of the river. "Nooooo!" Darkao fell down the edge of the waterfall, to the rocks below.

"You see Koopa?" Professor Oak pointed the strobe light down at the edge. "Hey! I found him! Don't worry, I'll recall you to bring you up here!"

Flora lowered her vine whips to Daisy and Kevin, and tried to shoot razor-sharp leaves at the ropes holding the two to release them. But this was very difficult, and Kevin lost his grip.

"Oh, no! Right at those Gyarados!" Kevin had to reach Koopa, or have Koopa reach him.

The Blastoise wasted no time and dove back in, but the current was too fast.

"Come on, Koopa, let's die together!" Kevin exclaimed as he recalled the Blastoise.

---

Giovanni had come to see what damage the Triad had done. "Karl, over here."

Karl wondered who was talking to him. "Who is it?"

"Karl, I saw what you and your friends were doing. Having lost, I can no longer face my followers. I've betrayed their trust. And as of today, Team Rocket is finished forever! I shall dedicate my life to the good of Pokemon. Fare thee well!"

Karl turned away. Was it true? Was Team Rocket truly gone? When he turned back, Giovanni was gone. Maybe it was true. Maybe he successfully saved the world.

Daisy finally reached the edge of the cliff, and ducked away.

Sparks had overloaded the force field machines of the legendary birds. And suddenly they were free! Articuno, with Karl and Hadley mounted, quickly swooped down to rescue Kevin. Moltres flew back to the laboratory, while Zapdos went off to find Ultima.

Flora looked at the two in disbelief. Kevin was going down the waterfall!

Articuno, however, swooped down just in time to rescue him.

---

"When's that Charizard going to get here and defrost you?" Lorelei was getting impatient. Suddenly, Moltres emerged from an open hole in the building.

"I'm Lorelei Casabic, and this is called..." Moltres blew a flame at Conner, Sandy, and Lorelei, torching them. "...'Rocket's Red Glare'..."

Moltres realized that it wasn't supposed to burn Lorelei. _"Oops! Sorry. I didn't mean to burn you, Casabic!"_

Bruno gasped. Lorelei was burned, but not badly. "Lorelei! Are you all right?"

"Uh... fine... I've got to stop smoking..."

"Kids, this is... a reminder," said Sandy weakly. "Think... don't... smoke..."

_---_

Kevin had been stopped by a psychic wave. "Hey, I'm not falling anymore." He mounted Articuno, joining his friends. "All right!"

"We did it! We got rid of Team Rocket for good, and saved the birds!" Karl was excited. He, Hadley, and Kevin had actually done something good.

Hadley was glad that Team Rocket was disbanded. "Now Kanto's perfectly safe for Pokemon."

Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa were levitating, following Articuno. But suddenly, they were shrinking and changing to their original shapes. They had completely de-evolved back into their child forms.

"Wow! That insta-evolution wasn't permanent." Hadley was immensely relieved. The chemical had worn off. Now they could enjoy the rest of their childhood just being like ordinary members of their kind.

Zapdos flew up with Ultima and Moltres. The three birds now had a child who was welcomed to the family. They could absolutely call the child their own.

"Come on, let's all go home!" Karl shouted victoriously.

---

Authorities had pulled up the dead body of Mandroph Darkao and the unconscious body of Rebecca Drayan from the ravine. Becky was placed in with her burned parents and cousin.

Agatha had met up with Professor Oak. "Oh! Agatha... what a surprise! Kevin's been saved, so don't worry about him."

"Oh, Paul! I can't believe all you do is learn about Pokemon. They're for fighting!"

"They're not tools of war..." Daisy tried to explain.

Agatha interrupted, "Shut it! We worked really hard at a relationship, but you chose Barb instead because she wanted the geek."

"Agatha, I'm sorry for what had happened. Can't we make it up?"

"Well, Paul... I understand. You just want your goals. I'll respect that."

"Thank you very much, Agatha."

"No problem, Paul."


	20. Journey's End

"And so, Team Rocket has apparently been disbanded..." the reporter said on TV.

"Yeah, that's it!" exclaimed Kevin. "We've shut them down."

"Ultima's been adopted by its parents and everything seems to be working out!" Karl was so glad that Team Rocket was no longer around to threaten Kanto.

"And the good news is that Blowtorch, Flora, and Koopa have been returned to their families." Hadley was happy that their Pokemon had returned to their kind at Indigo Valley.

---

Flora ran towards her father, an Ivysaur.

_"Dad! I was in some lab during much of my time, but then some nice scientist adopted me! Oh, my name's Flora."_

_"Flora... that's a nice name. I'd like you to meet your brothers and sisters!"_

A group of Pokemon that looked very much like Flora greeted her. Flora had finally found the family she could call her own!

Blowtorch ran towards his mother, a Charmeloen, along with other Pokemon looking exactly like him. _"Mommy! I went through a great adventure all over! We were in freezing cold mountains and in a volcano!"_

Koopa slid to his mother with a few turtles similar to him. "_Mama! I went into a hot spring in cold weather and grew up! But then I became little again..."_

_"That's all right, Koopa, is it?"_

_"Yep!"_

_"Now, Koopa, you'll grow up again soon enough."_

The three were all finally back with their families with all the stories they could tell.

---

Lorelei Casabic and her aunt Sandy, along with Becky and Conner, were released from the hospital alive, but with permanent scars. They needed plastic surgery to look good as new. The Drayans were sentenced to twenty years in prison.

---

Giovanni has gone missing for some reason. To this day, it's still unknown where he is. However, rumors have spread that he was the leader of Team Rocket and disbanded the group.

---

And Kevin "Blue" Oak, still grieved to this day about his dad's death, has become the Gym Leader of Viridian City, due to the disappearance of the old leader.

Karl "Red" Caliduct, to this day, still treks through Kanto, seeing many diverse Pokemon, and filling his Pokedex.

Hadley "Green" Caliduct is now smitten with Blue. She became Professor Oak's lab assistant, and even helps her brother when he goes through Kanto.

---

Lance got elected to Kantoan Governor, and helps Red fill the Pokedex.

---

Due to the earthquake, Mt. Moon has changed completely on the inside. A gift shop has been opened on the summit.

Nugget Bridge has been rebuilt in Cerulean City, with Misty Archegus' help.

The ghosts at Pokemon Tower are claimed by Mr. Fuji to have departed into the afterlife.

Rocket Game Corner and PokeWorld were sold off to Erika. The Game Corner was renamed to "Erika's Game World".

Silph Co. is currently designing a PokeBall that can catch any wild Pokemon in existence. This could be a significant innovation!

Fuchsia City and the Safari Zone have warmed up. The snow has been melted completely. Koga Kilojice resigned his position as Gym Leader, and his daughter Janine will take over.

Seafoam Islands' caves have refrozen, sealing off any ruins.

Cinnibar Town had been destroyed in the volcano. Citizens have evacuated to Pallet Town.

---

And last, but certainly not least, Red has changed from his lazy couch potato state to becoming a marathon runner featured on Pokemon Pal magazine.

---

And I hope that you've enjoyed this story. Good-night everybody! This is Eric Oakford signing off.

---

THE END

---

_No Pokemon were harmed in the making of this fanfic._

_Any characters, creatures, and events in this fic are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidential._


End file.
